Kansas lags behind in collecting OUR fair share of federal funds and is failing to fight poverty

By SJ Otto

This week I read as Ed Flentje, wrote "Kansas leads the nation in refusing federal dollars," in The Wichita Eagle. This article is not all that surprising. People have had to put up with past Governor Sam Brownback and his conspirators who tried their best to destroy nearly all of Kansas' safety nets that help those in poverty that need assistance. One major battle that still needs to be fought is to expand Medicaid. According to Flentje's article:

"Should Kansans be cheering or booing state lawmakers for refusing available federal aid? The answer is a no-brainer!

Nearly 80% of all federal money to the states comes through grants for Medicaid or income security. In the period 2011 through 2017, Republican lawmakers, led by former Gov. Sam Brownback, began denying available federal aid to the state’s most vulnerable residents — poor families, children, seniors, the unemployed and the disabled."

Not only do people need Medicaid, but that federal money is funding that we as tax payers have already paid for. Other states get their fair share while ass hole politicians in Kansas have deliberately sent that money back. Expanding Medicaid would save many lives here in Kansas—literally save lives. And because of their spiteful attitude, working Kansans who can't afford health care go without. Since we have a new governor, we should be able to reverse this eventually. In the mean time, Democrats should be asking why Governor Laura Kelly hasn't ended the disastrous privatization system that Brownback set up.

There are some other battles that Kelly needs to stand up on. Earlier this year Kelly backed of changes that extended food assistance to thousands of Kansas adults even though they failed to meet a work requirement. Kelly knuckled under in response to a threat from Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt to file a lawsuit over the policy change. We didn't vote for a Governor so she could allow the Republicans to bully her around and continue THEIR business as usual. The work requirements are ridiculous, unnecessary and they hinder people who really need this assistance.  

For  those of us who voted for Kelly, we expect to reverse a lot of the non-sense the Republicans have put on all public assistance. The Republicans did their best to neglect poor people and humiliate them. The Democrats in the legislature, along with Kelly, should reverse as much of their stupidity as possible. The Republicans will return eventually and they will put more restrictions on assistance. In many ways there really is no welfare in Kansas. The Republican restrictions they kept placing on it, has made it nearly impossible to get and if a person can get it, the restrictions make it a very humiliating experience.

Kansas can now do better. And Kelly needs to do better. She can certainly reverse the trend of sending back federal aid that can be used to help Kansans who are living in poverty. As I work in the Wichita School System, I am constantly reminded that there are children who dread summer and days off school because they don't get enough to eat. This is ridiculous. This state could help that situation and there is no reason that keeps on happening.

Kelly and all the Democrats need to stand up to the conservatives. Stop letting them push us around.

The same can be said for any Democrat who runs against President Donald Trump. It is not enough to just stop passing laws that gut people's services and protections from predatory lenders and similar businesses. We need to reverse as much of what he has done as possible. We need to win our country back and put up a fight against right-wing stupidity.