Lib Media: 'Kansas is Melting!!!'

The Lib media will never have articles showing how much heavy taxation or out-of-control spending is harming the economy. But one kind of article they do know how to write is one which describes how people suffer from cuts in government spending, or, if not cuts, at least, cruel reductions in the generous rate of increases planned in government spending.

The main target in the rhetorical gunsights of the liberal media is Kansas, which had the audacity to cut taxes and now, a very short time after the tax cuts went into effect, has to cut the state budget to the bone, if you believe the histrionics of the Huffington Post.

Gov. Sam Brownback and the GOP-dominated Legislature this past week worked out plans for closing a $344 million deficit and allowing the state to pay its bills on time into the summer. The plans included cuts to predictable targets, such as education spending and public pension contributions, but also diverted money from highway projects, which are especially prized by the governor's rural supporters.

 Oh no!

Even a few of the Legislature's most austerity minded members were taken aback by the blow to the highway program, which comes as other states are considering new ways of ramping up infrastructure investment

The most austerity-minded members were "taken aback by the blow" -- doesn't this sound like a radio broadcaster describing one of the Rocky movies? And then we have the infamous word "infrastructure". Government spending on "infrastructure" doesn't create permanent jobs, only private sector expenditures do that.

"When I send out surveys and say, 'What are the roles of government?' -- and this is not just my district -- roads are generally at the top of the list," said Sen. Forrest Knox, a southeast Kansas Republican who's among the Legislature's most conservative members.

Brownback is a radical! Even the most conservative members are opposing his cuts to the most essential functions of government. But how essential are these functions?

Brownback argued throughout his campaign that Kansas could have low income taxes and high-quality services, including its highways, which are among the nation's best.

If they're among the nation's best, why can't there be a building moratorium, for just a year or two? Surely the best highway system could survive that.

Residents of the area northwest of Topeka have been waiting for the upgrading of a 60-year-old bridge linking the small towns of Willard and Rossville, where school buses are being rerouted because of concerns about the structure's weight limit.

If it's been 60 years, why can't they wait a 61st?

Some fear the antiquated steel-pin design bridge may become unusable.

Were "Some" the opinion of the guys drinking beer at the local bar? Or imaginary friends of this Huffington Post writer? From the hysterical way it is written, I can almost hear the steel pins snapping unless the 60-year-old bridge is upgraded right now!

In Russell County, farmer Morris Krug said he's worried about a planned $38 million upgrade of a 16-mile stretch of highway in the area.

Highway funds, he said, "should not be tampered with. They were put there to build roads in this state and no governor has the right to draw on those to balance his budget."

There's the liberal answer for you. According to them, the government has no right to cut spending to balance the budget. By the way, they are not "highway funds", they are "taxpayer funds", and no one has an automatic "right" to them.

Someday, you'll know you're reading a balanced article when they tell you exactly how much out of the budget is being cut, and what the prior year budget was in comparison. Until they do, this kind of out-of-context economics has no meaning.

Pedro Gonzales is editor of Newsmachete.com, the conservative news site. Feedback is welcome. 

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