Issue Position: Jobs

Issue Position

Wichitans build the finest airplanes in the world. WSU's National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) trains the finest aeronautical engineers in the world and conducts cutting edge research allowing our aircraft manufacturing technology to lead the worldwide industry. Meanwhile the National Center for Aviation Training at Jabara Airport (NCAT) trains the aircraft workers of the future in the latest and most advanced techniques. As a result, executives of Beechcraft, Cessna, Bombardier Learjet and Spirit Aerosystems have all told the legislature they have not only kept jobs in Wichita, but also brought new manufacturing here. While aircraft manufacturing has long been the backbone of the Wichita economy, too many well known nationally known Kansas companies have moved elsewhere not because of our workers or business environment, but because of acquisition by larger out-of-state companies. We must maintain and grow smaller businesses and the jobs they bring to our community.

These opportunities to grow the Wichita economy and keep and bring more jobs here did not come cheap. NCAT and NIAR were built with your tax dollars. WSU is a state university also paid for with tax dollars. In 2013, the governor and legislature eliminated the income tax on most business owners in the hopes they would increase hiring with the dollars saved on their taxes. The plan did not work, and much of this mistake was corrected over the governor's veto in 2017; meanwhile, because of billion dollar deficits resulting from these tax exemptions, funding for training new engineers and other professionals, and as importantly highly skilled workers at schools like NCAT, NIAR and WSU has been cut.

Very simply, nothing is free in life or government. Repairing the damage done by the Brownback tax loophole will take years. We must live within our means, while making the necessary investments for our future. I will continue to be a voice of reason and moderation as we move forward to repair the damage and provide for the economic future of Wichita.

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