“Kansas will be this hole in the ground. There will be yellow tape around it and you will drive up and stop and say, ‘Woah, I better not go into that hole’.” Kansas House Representative Valdenia Winn made this comment during a discussion about the direction Kansas is headed and how the rest of the country will feel about us.
And she is not the only one who worries about such a future for the Sunflower State. The increasing instability caused by the policies of Brownback and other extreme conservatives has led to many people avoiding our state all together.
Earlier this year, a teacher decided to leave Kansas for another state specifically due to the “uncertain situation” here. (http://shawneemissionpost.com/2022 /07/01/sm-east-gifted-teacher-cites-uncertain-situation-in-kansas-a-reason-for-move-from-district-51962) What’s sad is that she was actually working at the Shawnee Mission school district – one of the better districts – and she still did not feel comfortable enough to stay.
Recently, the business Pathfinder Health Innovations actually moved across the state line into Missouri because of what “Sam Brownback and his cronies” have done to the economy, education, and medical field – all areas which Pathfinder is concerned with. (http://www.startlandnews.com/2022 /06/ceo-kansas-politics-pushed-pathfinder-innovations-missouri/)
These two aren’t the only ones leaving either. United Van Lines is a moving company which recently shared its data showing that more people are leaving Kansas than coming in. (http://kmuw.org/post/study-more-people-are-leaving-kansas-moving) People can see that we are becoming that hole in the ground that Rep. Winn fears.
The nation has taken notice of Kansas’s ailments, especially since we were featured on a segment of Late Night with Seth Meyers where he focused on Brownback’s tax cuts and what that has done to the state budget. (http://shawneemissionpost.com/2022 /03/23/pulse-of-northeast-johnson-county-do-national-comedians-jabs-do-serious-damage-to-kansass-reputation-48604) Surely, no one saw that video and was eager to give Kansas a try.
But it’s not Seth’s fault; he was just pointing out the obvious. The fault lies with Brownback and the legislators who continue to support him. Legislators like House Representative James Todd who seems to put Brownback’s wants over Kansas’s needs. This election is our opportunity to turn things around for Kansas. To give our beautiful state a fighting chance for a future.
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