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THE KANSAS CITY STAR.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2013
WWW.KANSASCITY.COM
They make such a clatter Santa and his reindeer, fashioned from a shopping cart, a grill, buckets, bottles and even a flowerpot or two, were still making their rounds in the 3900 block of St. John Avenue on Tuesday afternoon. KEITH MYERS | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
KANSAS LEGISLATURE | Session is expected to debate how the state picks its judges
STORIES BEHIND THE TAX CUTS
SELECTION BECOMES HOT TOPIC Bar association suggests adjustments to current process, but others want to overhaul the whole system.
DAVE HELLING
By BRAD COOPER The Kansas City Star
CO M M E N TA RY
P
op quiz: Who’s the bigger tax cutter, Barack Obama or Ronald Reagan? Answer: Obama. The fiscal cliff agreement, signed early this year, cuts expected federal income tax revenue by about $1.8 trillion over the next five years, while the famous supplyside Reagan tax cuts in 1981 cost the government about $1.5 trillion, in inflation-adjusted cash, over their first five years. In a better world, Republicans would understand this and claim their fiscal cliff victory. Had a Republican president passed such a dramatic federal income tax reduction, he or she would be considered a supplyside saint, not a budget-busting socialist. We know this because Kansas is conducting its own experiment with massive tax cuts, led by GOP Gov. Sam Brownback, who often claims Reagan’s legacy, and Arthur Laffer, the author of the supply-side curve. In many ways, the Brownback tax cuts resemble Obama’s. Both are based on the idea that putting more money in private pockets will stimulate a rocky economy. Both risk continuing huge budget deficits. And both plans try to limit that fiscal damage by demanding sacrifice from unpopular constituencies, although in very different ways. Obama targets the rich: higher income tax rates, phased-out deductions, higher Obamacare levies. By contrast, as The Star’s Eric Adler and Brad Cooper have reported, Brownback focuses on the poor: fewer low-end credits and deductions, less spending for health care and support for a regressive sales tax. Neither choice reflects much political courage. Polls show most Americans don’t like the very rich — the 1 percent and all that. But they don’t care for the very poor either — food stamps, welfare, unemployment insurance. Picking on the top or bottom 10 percent is usually a pretty safe political bet. As an economic matter, though, neither approach will probably work. Government deficits won’t be brought into line until the broad middle class can be persuaded to take fewer benefits, or pay higher taxes, or probably both. Obama and Republicans showed some evidence they know this when they endorsed higher Social Security payroll taxes, which will show up in your check this week. If they follow up with significant cuts to Medicare, you’ll know they’re ready to spread real pain to the middle class. Brownback’s middle-class gambit will involve higher property taxes, probably pushed down to cities, counties and school boards. Nothing riles the middle class like a higher property tax bill. Cutting taxes is the easiest vote a politician can cast. The hard choices are coming.
To reach Dave Helling, call 816-234-4656 or send email to dhelling@kcstar.com.
Local
Kansas lawyers are ready to relinquish some control over picking judges in hopes the process won’t be turned over to governors who might stack the courts with political soulmates. With the Legislature ready to take up judicial selection as early as next
week, the Kansas Bar Association is suggesting that lawmakers rework the way upper-level judges are nominated instead of revamping the entire system and letting Gov. Sam Brownback name judges who are confirmed by the Senate. “Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater,” bar association president Lee Smithyman of Overland Park said. The method for picking upper-level judges has been controversial in Kansas because it depends on a nominating commission that has lawyers as a
majority of its members. State appeals court judges are screened by a nine-member nominating commission that includes five lawyers, plus four non-attorneys named by the governor. The governor chooses from a list of three nominees selected by the commission. Nominees for the state Supreme Court are chosen the same way, but that procedure is harder to change because it’s set by the state constitution and would require a public vote along with support of twothirds of the Legislature.
Kansas is the only state that gives lawyers a majority control over the selection of judges, experts say. Critics say the selection process is fundamentally undemocratic because it vests power in attorneys who are not accountable to the public. Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration has pushed for a federal model where the chief executive — in this case the governor — appoints judges with Senate confirmation. He is expected to push for a similar mea-
TIME FOR A SMILE FOR THESE LUCKY WINNERS
SEE JUDGES | A9
Hungry kids get big help Virtual food drive KC Challenge raises $147,633 for Harvesters’ BackSnack program. By LAURA BAUER The Kansas City Star
Louie and Amanda Jones of Independence were among 10 winners of a KFKF radio essay contest who were getting free heating and plumbing work done Tuesday. Amanda’s mother wrote the essay about their troubles. He was paralyzed from the chest down by a shooting in July, and she is more than six months pregnant. Their home needed plumbing and heating work. Workers with LBA Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing were correcting the problems. Amanda Jones summed it up: "It’s the best Christmas present we ever got." Craig Giles (left) and Mitch Smedley troubleshot a troublesome toilet. PHOTOS BY FRED BLOCHER | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
Concealed carry goes wrong in restaurant Man with valid gun permit accidentally shoots his wife. Officials are reviewing case.
Kansas officials are reviewing the events surrounding a man’s accidental shooting of his wife last week at the Longbranch Steakhouse in Lenexa. Police said the two were sitting across from each other in a booth about 8:15 p.m. Jan. 2 when the man reached into his front pants pocket and acciden-
tally discharged a small pistol, striking his wife in the leg just above the knee. She was treated at a hospital and released. The man had a valid permit to carry a concealed weapon, said Officer Dan Friesen of the Lenexa Police Department. But Kansas law does not allow people to carry concealed weapons if they are under the influence of alcohol. It is a Class A misdemeanor. Friesen said the Johnson County dis-
trict attorney’s office was reviewing the case to decide whether to file a charge. He said the Kansas attorney general’s office will also review the case to determine whether to revoke the man’s concealed-carry permit. Longbranch, at 8600 Marshall Drive, serves alcohol. But because it also is a restaurant, concealed weapons on the premises are permissible. Concealed weapons are not allowed in bars. | Matt Campbell, mcampbell@kcstar.com
LOFTY PERCH FOR LOFTY GOALS In an effort to raise awareness of the plight of homeless people in Kansas City, the Rev. Tony Caldwell remained on the roof of Community United KC Safe House for a seventh day on Tuesday. The building at 2931 Askew Ave. is used as a safe gathering place for youths after school and by Stop the Killing KC. Caldwell, a pastor at the
Eternal Life Church in Kansas City, also hopes to collect $50,000 in donations for the building and for three dwellings used for transitional housing. Caldwell, 50, who has been fasting during his stay on the roof, plans to come down Thursday morning. For more information, go to www.facebook.com/ StopTheKillingKC.
TAMMY LJUNGBLAD | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
A HOUSE FIRE NEAR PENGUIN PARK IN THE NORTHLAND KILLS A WOMAN AND THREE PETS | A10
For the third year in a row, donations poured in over the holidays to help feed hungry kids in the Kansas City area. During last month’s KC Challenge virtual food drive — a partnership between Harvesters and The Star — readers donated $147,633, bringing the three-year total to $694,249. That’s enough to provide BackSnacks to 3,324 students for an entire school year. These weekend packs of food provide children with two breakfasts, two other meals and snacks to tide them over until school on Monday. Every week, Harvesters provides roughly 17,000 BackSnacks to children in a 26-county area. A primary goal of the KC Challenge has been to inform the community about childhood hunger and show where it exists. Last month, stories over a two-week period showed hunger through the eyes of children. “By sharing the stories of children and families in need, (we are) educating our community about a serious problem that often is hidden from view,” said Karen Haren, president and CEO of Harvesters. As part of the recent KC Challenge, 720 volunteers helped pack BackSnacks during three Star Sundays. Those volunteers donated 1,675 pounds of food for families in need. On Christmas Day, The Star printed readers’ dedications to family members in whose name they made donations. For an updated list of dedications, go to KansasCity.com. To reach Laura Bauer, call 816-234-4944 or send email to lbauer@kcstar.com.