# What isn't the matter with Kansas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 12, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398 "2014-11-12T01:39:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/121 "2016-06-04T00:07:17Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > [https://www.yahoo.com/news/kansas-faces-budget-woes-amid-school-funding-fight-232150214.html?ref=gs](https://www.yahoo.com/news/kansas-faces-budget-woes-amid-school-funding-fight-232150214.html?ref=gs) > > Kansas continues to swirl down the bowl. Inexplicably irritating misapplied quote from one of the idiot legislators: > [@](#): > > But Republican Rep. Scott Schwab of Olathe Republican, said for many GOP legislators, “You hold a gun to our heads, we’re going to say, ‘Go ahead and make my day.’” No, jackass, that’s not what you say in a situation where the gun’s being held to _your own_ head, it’s what you say when the gun’s pointed at somebody **else** whose survival you don’t particularly care about. If you tell the gunman to go ahead and shoot when he’s holding the gun to **your** head, your retaliatory capabilities are going to be drastically reduced. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/122 "2016-06-04T01:34:15Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Inexplicably irritating misapplied quote from one of the idiot legislators: > > No, jackass, that’s not what you say in a situation where the gun’s being held to _your own_ head, it’s what you say when the gun’s pointed at somebody **else** whose survival you don’t particularly care about. > > If you tell the gunman to go ahead and shoot when he’s holding the gun to **your** head, your retaliatory capabilities are going to be drastically reduced. Hush! Never lighten up a chump. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/123 "2016-06-17T16:48:50Z")
Kasas massively cut taxes on the rich. California modestly raised them. Guess whose economy is doing better… > **[The interesting thing that happened when Kansas cut taxes and California...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/17/one-state-raised-taxes-the-other-cut-them-guess-which-one-is-in-recession/)** > > These two states must seem really bizarre to conservatives. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/124 "2016-06-17T17:18:38Z")
Quite a thread, this. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/125 "2016-06-17T23:10:36Z")
Guess it might be helpful to hear what the OP has to say about what a tremendous success _lasseiz faire_ has been in Brownbackistan. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/126 "2016-06-23T18:25:30Z")
This is a never ending source of amusement for me. I am going to keep posting these updates until **ITR Champion** returns to the thread. [Kansas to borrow $900,000,000.00 to cover next fiscal year](http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/kansas-borrow-900-million-cover-fiscal-year-40060847). ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/127 "2016-06-23T19:11:17Z")
> [@](#): > > The State Finance Council, which is led by the Republican governor, voted 8-1 to loan the state’s main bank account the **money from other, idle funds**. > > The move, known as a certificate of indebtedness, is one \*\*the state has used repeatedly \*\*to cover bills when cash is expected to run low. It’s similar to when a family borrows from a savings account or college fund to cover monthly bills because its checking account is temporarily short of funds between paychecks. Emphasis added. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/128 "2016-06-23T19:26:24Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Emphasis added. Not sure that really softens the blow. Republicans are, in general, completely wrong about supply side economics. Where they borrow the money from when reality smacks them in the face with their wrongness isn’t much of an issue. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/129 "2016-06-23T19:35:27Z")
Except when you take money from the “fix the potholes” fund to pay the “keep the electricity running” fund, then you either have to raise taxes in the future to get the potholes fixed, or learn to live with the potholes. That ain’t free money. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/130 "2016-06-23T20:54:45Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Emphasis added. Sure, it’s a process they’ve used before. I’m curious as to \*when \*they’ve done this, how often, and for what amounts. Any Kansans have any idea? **Haj**? ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/131 "2016-06-23T20:59:41Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Kasas massively cut taxes on the rich. California modestly raised them. Guess whose economy is doing better… Kansas has [much lower unemployment](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740540&page=3) than California, a [better credit rating](http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2014/06/09/sp-ratings-2014) than California, [lower](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_Gini_coefficient) income inequality, and [a lower poverty rate](http://www.povertyusa.org/the-state-of-poverty/poverty-map-state/#). So I’d say that the economy is much better in Kansas. Indeed it looks pretty awful in California, other than for the rich. > [@](#): > > This is a never ending source of amusement for me. I am going to keep posting these updates until ITR Champion returns to the thread. Ok, I have now returned to the thread. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/132 "2016-06-23T21:02:34Z")
If I had to choose between living in Kansas and California, I’d pick Kansas every day of the week and twice on Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/133 "2016-06-23T21:35:45Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > If I had to choose between living in Kansas and California, I’d pick Kansas every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Why? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/134 "2016-06-23T21:56:12Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Why? Well, there are all the reasons that ITR champion gave in his last post. Mostly it would be because I enjoy the right to keep and bear arms. Kansas generally respects that and California does not. Also, every damn thing in California causes cancer 😉 While I don’t really mind people generally, Californians are a special case, worthy of contempt and loathing. They’re slowly screwing up all the surrounding states, and my hatred for them burns like the surface of the sun. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/135 "2016-06-23T22:30:39Z")
It’s pretty easy to get a gun here. I could have one in three days. Concealed carry is legal here too but it is a hassle to get one of those permits. I know you’re joking but it’s a very diverse State in terms of political views. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2016, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/136 "2016-06-23T22:39:48Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > It’s pretty easy to get a gun here. I could have one in three days. Concealed carry is legal here too but it is a hassle to get one of those permits. Depends on the county. Right wing Constitutional Sheriffs like Scott Jones (currently a Republican candidate for Congress) in Sacramento County has gone on a permit-giving spree ever since he was elected, and despite being the 8th largest county population-wise, it has the third most gun permits, behind Fresno and Orange Counties. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/137 "2016-06-24T00:54:08Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > Kansas has …[lower](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_Gini_coefficient) income inequality … umm, > [@](#): > > The information was tabulated in 2010 from data from the American Community Survey conducted by the US Census Bureau. do you have data from when Brownback was actually governor? ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/138 "2016-06-24T01:42:32Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > …While I don’t really mind people generally, Californians are a special case, worthy of contempt and loathing. They’re slowly screwing up all the surrounding states, and my hatred for them burns like the surface of the sun. In other words, you need a fucking hobby. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/139 "2016-06-24T18:00:06Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > While I don’t really mind people generally, Californians are a special case, worthy of contempt and loathing. They’re slowly screwing up all the surrounding states . . . Eh? How? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398/140 "2016-06-24T18:31:09Z")
> [@Subterraneanus](#): > > In other words, you need a fucking hobby. I already have a hobby (shooting things). California doesn’t like my hobby, so I don’t like California. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-isnt-the-matter-with-kansas/704398.md?page=8)