Dahl, Barnett discuss energy, insurance
Staff reporter
The costs of energy and health insurance, and parents' responsibilities were the primary topics of discussion Saturday morning at Zimmerman's Deli, downtown Marion, when Representative Don Dahl and Senator Jim Barnett met with Marion area residents for their annual legislative coffee.
Opening comments
Barnett said he was focusing on the issues of education, health care, illegal immigration, and an energy policy.
Currently the state is entering the third year of a school funding program.
"We need to look beyond and have a multiple-year, rolling budget for education," Barnett said.
Current increases in education funding include $59 per student for the next two years.
Barnett said there are 300,000 uninsured Kansans with 20,000 uninsured children.
"We should be personally responsible for our health care," Barnett said, the government should not.
The impoverished receive medical care in emergency rooms instead of doctor's offices because they cannot afford routine examinations.
Barnett said he was not against immigration but illegal immigration. He said he co-sponsored a bill where employers have to verify employees' proof of citizenship.
Concerns have been expressed, Barnett said, of Kansas becoming a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants because of relaxed regulations.
A new federal program, Real ID, requires proof of identification when applying for a Kansas driver's license. Barnett noted that there used to be thousands of illegal immigrants obtaining driver's licenses in Kansas because of the law. Now, 50,000 of those illegal immigrants will not be able to renew their licenses because of the new laws.
An energy policy also is important, Barnett said.
"We want cheap energy, and clean air and water," he said. "My duty as an elected official is to bring all of this together and find a resolution with an energy policy."
Wind and hydrogen power are other options.
Dahl's opening statement was directed toward the state's budget.
"Ninety percent of the items addressed in Topeka are ran by money," he said.
A pie chart was displayed that showed the state's 2009 budget. The total budget of $6,420,825,000 indicated five percent for discretionary spending. Another slice of the pie indicated that $255,700,000 was promised or required spending, and the remaining $6,089,125,000 was approved in 2008 for spending in 2009.
The disaster relief fund helps with costs of floods in Coffeyville, tornado at Greensburg, and ice storms across the state which alone caused $200 million in damage, Dahl said. The current budget of $15 million for disaster relief was raised to $50 million.
Another chart that Dahl referred to was one that showed the state's fiscal situation with receipts exceeding funds.
The state's total debt is $3.855 billion, Dahl said, with expenses topping revenue.
"We're spending more than we're taking in," he said.
Should the legislature increase taxes to balance the budget?
"Households can't afford to go into too much debt and neither can the house," Dahl said. "I don't want to vote for a tax increase so we're stuck.
"Kansas is a great state but we're not rich. We're mostly agri-rural," Dahl said. "We're struggling."
Tough questions about energy
Rural Marion resident Harry Bennett commented that his daughters grew up in Marion but now live out-of-state, partially because of the state's stance on pollution.
"(My daughter) is concerned about mercury in the water and the down-stream effects," Bennett said. "Supposedly the state is able to clean up the emissions but won't do it."
He continued that he doesn't see his daughter and others returning to a state that doesn't seem to care about pollution.
Bennett continued that he was not in support of the Sunflower coal-fired plant at Holcomb because of the company's apparent insolvency.
"Sunflower still owes $200 million from another project," Bennett said, which makes the company a loan risk. He continued that he was concerned about consumers having to pay for any bad debt.
"If we don't support coal-fired plants, (energy) costs will go up," Dahl said. "It's tough to explain to people on fixed incomes that heating costs are going to go sky-high."
He continued that large companies within the state put money in the state's treasury and support local economies but many are large users of energy. If costs for production are not kept competitive, Kansas could lose those companies like Boeing, Cessna, and Goodyear to other states.
"South Carolina is offering a deal to Cessna," Dahl said. "What's to keep them here? Once we lose them, they aren't coming back.
"If we don't get Sunflower, you can forget a billion dollar expansion at the McPherson refinery and then don't complain about fuel costs."
Dahl also commented that carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired plants serve as aerial fertilization, producing more plant life. The Sunflower coal-fired energy plant that was proposed could produce less mercury than currently being produced by other energy plants.
Dahl also noted that the governor and secretary of state were against a coal-fired plant. Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry organization typically supported Republican views but now support the other side regarding energy alternatives, he said.
"Human activity contributes to our environment. We contribute to those gases," Barnett said. "Carbon dioxide content is increasing because of the use of fossil fuels.
"We need to have an open mind on the issue. We need fossil fuels to get to where we need to be," Barnett said.
Dahl said he had a list of 17 wind energy projects for the state of Kansas with 15 being from foreign companies and he supports wind power.
"(However) wind power is not reliable," he said, which can cause electrical blackouts.
Roger Hannaford III of Marion said one of the reasons for high credit card debt and the mortgage crisis is because of energy costs.
"Mortgage payments are getting behind and people are using credit cards because of costs at the pumps and to heat homes," he said.
Dahl agreed.
"It's like restricting producers to only producing products that will be used within the state," he said. "Kansas needs to sell energy out-of-state."
Health insurance, education
Business owner Dave Crofoot said he was concerned about being able to afford to provide health insurance to his employees because of the continued cost increases for premiums.
He also questioned the current labor force, noting that some workers under the age of 30 don't have the same work ethic as older employees.
Barnett responded that the issue with some workers is education.
"I don't see the problem with teachers but families as the cause of education failure," Barnett said.
He continued that children are impacted by television and radio but those mediums are constitutionally protected. Barnett supports a policy that would support and encourage families which includes a more competitive economy so one parent can stay at home and take care of their children.
Drugs and alcohol abuse also are issues that cannot be ignored, noting that children are born with addictions because of the lifestyles of their parents.
As far as affordable health insurance, Barnett would like to see employers be allowed to use pretax dollars and give funds to employees to find their own health insurance.
Dahl said money is being put toward the symptom instead of the cause.
He asked the 25 people in the audience, "What are the biggest health concerns?" Diabetes and obesity, Dahl said, are the top health problems, and they're preventable.
Families need support
Marion resident Ralph Noriega said, as an SRS employee, he has encountered young adults who come to him to ask for assistance instead of working at a job.
"We have a problem here when it pays more not to work," Noriega said. "People are relying on the government to pull them through."
He continued that there is no shortage of jobs but a shortage of people to take them.
"A quick solution is for the government to quit being an enabler," Dahl said.
He continued that young people also are the ones who do not have health insurance because they think they don't need it.
Noriega commented that "just the idea of providing programs for grandparents as caregivers (to their grandchildren) is a blow to our society. That generation has lost its values."
Adults who qualify for assistance are those who make $4,000 or less per year, Barnett said.
The largest group of uninsured residents in the state are teens.
"How do we inculture them to become responsible?" Barnett asked.
