Maybe if Kansas didn't recently give away 120 million dollars, they could afford a few million to keep the buses going. (Kansas City: sales, insurance)

[kcmo]

That's right. If Kansas didn't recently give AMC, Teva and Fishnet 120 million dollars to move a few miles from across state line, they probably could afford a few million to keep the few buses they have going!

Deep cuts could mean drastic changes for The Jo bus system | 913

[luzianne]

Meanwile, Missouri can't afford to fix the potholes in their streets.

[luzianne]

Also, if you haven't noticed, not a lot of Johnson Countians use the bus service. Kansas City, Missouri is a different story, because there are a lot of people who ride The Metro. It makes sense for KCMO to expand their bus service because it is easier to hop on a bus and get where you want to go in Kansas City, Missouri. In the suburbs, not so much - because everything is spread out more. I don't see you talking about bus service in Lee's Summit or Liberty. Why? Because it's not needed so much in the suburbs. In the suburbs it makes more sense to get around by car, not bus.

And honestly, a large part of the people on Johnson County buses are people traveling from Kansas City, Missouri to Johnson County and back, not within Johnson County.

[kcmo]

luzianne, you are completely missing the point (actually, you are just trying to spin it off in another direction to avoid the point.)

I don’t think I need to hold your hand for you to understand, I’m quite confident you actually do understand. But just in case, you can replace the bus story with this one just as well.

Senate budget includes school, pay cuts | Wichita Eagle

The point still remains that if Kansas has 100 million laying around for corporate welfare that adds no net jobs to the metro and actually reduces taxes paid to the state of Kansas, then maybe they shouldn’t be cutting *you can fill in the blank here*.

[luzianne]

kcmo, the truth is the only reason this bothers you is that businesses are moving from Missouri to Kansas. I'm sorry Missouri doesn't have any money laying around to keep businesses in Missouri. There is nothing wrong with CREATING JOBS. There is nothing wrong with capitalism.

You pay no taxes to Kansas, so why do you care? Oh, I know - because you don't like that Kansas HAS the money to attract businesses. I have no problem with the way my tax dollars are spent. Johnson County has two of the best school districts in the country. Our streets are kept free of snow and ice and our roads are maintained. When our sidewalks begin to crumble, they are replaced. The streets are cleaned on a regular basis. We have low crime. We always have road construction going on (which can be a pain, but we have new roads/bridges, etc). Clearly, Johnson County is doing something right. The bus service doesn't even benefit most people in Johnson County, so it's not really a big deal. I don't know one person who rides The Jo.

Frankly, if I lived in Missouri I would be upset that I pay taxes and I don't see my tax dollars at work. The roads are crappy and full of potholes. Ice and snow are not removed well. The crime rate is high. I wouldn't send my dog to KCMO school district. And last year KCMO considered not even turning on the fountains all summer because they didn't have the money to operate them. I think you should worry about KCMO before you worry about a state you've never paid taxes to.

The only reason this bothers you is the same old thing that it always is with you - you don't like Johnson County and it bothers you that businesses are leaving Kansas City, Missouri for Johnson County. Like I always have said, if Kansas City Mo expects to keep businesses there, it had better figure out a way to be competitive.

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by luzianne

kcmo, the truth is the only reason this bothers you is that businesses are moving from Missouri to Kansas. I'm sorry Missouri doesn't have any money laying around to keep businesses in Missouri. There is nothing wrong with CREATING JOBS. There is nothing wrong with capitalism.

You pay no taxes to Kansas, so why do you care? Oh, I know - because you don't like that Kansas HAS the money to attract businesses. I have no problem with the way my tax dollars are spent. Johnson County has two of the best school districts in the country. Our streets are kept free of snow and ice and our roads are maintained. When our sidewalks begin to crumble, they are replaced. The streets are cleaned on a regular basis. We have low crime. We always have road construction going on (which can be a pain, but we have new roads/bridges, etc). Clearly, Johnson County is doing something right. The bus service doesn't even benefit most people in Johnson County, so it's not really a big deal. I don't know one person who rides The Jo.

Frankly, if I lived in Missouri I would be upset that I pay taxes and I don't see my tax dollars at work. The roads are crappy and full of potholes. Ice and snow are not removed well. The crime rate is high. I wouldn't send my dog to KCMO school district. And last year KCMO considered not even turning on the fountains all summer because they didn't have the money to operate them. I think you should worry about KCMO before you worry about a state you've never paid taxes to.

The only reason this bothers you is the same old thing that it always is with you - you don't like Johnson County and it bothers you that businesses are leaving Kansas City, Missouri for Johnson County. Like I always have said, if Kansas City Mo expects to keep businesses there, it had better figure out a way to be competitive.

Some of your arguments are towards the city, and some to Missouri in general. I like the city, but it has issues that the suburbs in Missouri simply don't have.
As a resident of a Missouri suburb, I found the services to be just fine. Snow was removed quickly (what little of it there was), streets were smooth, schools were good, etc. And..... taxes were quite low where we lived. $800 a year in property taxes. Sales and gas taxes were average or below. More bang for the buck there than any other place I've lived.

I'd love to see stats of Johnson County's actual new, from scratch, job creation. I'm sure there's some, but let's compare it to the number of jobs they've simply moved over. Job creation is an important topic with the unemployment/underemployment rate being so high. Who cares if they can woo a company with questionable tactics. At this point, I'd be just as frustrated if they got companies from other states. That simply is not what we need to be doing as a country right now. Brand new jobs or getting them back from overseas. That would be impressive.

[MOKAN]

Originally Posted by northbound74

Some of your arguments are towards the city, and some to Missouri in general. I like the city, but it has issues that the suburbs in Missouri simply don't have.
As a resident of a Missouri suburb, I found the services to be just fine. Snow was removed quickly (what little of it there was), streets were smooth, schools were good, etc. And..... taxes were quite low where we lived. $800 a year in property taxes. Sales and gas taxes were average or below. More bang for the buck there than any other place I've lived.

I'd love to see stats of Johnson County's actual new, from scratch, job creation. I'm sure there's some, but let's compare it to the number of jobs they've simply moved over. Job creation is an important topic with the unemployment/underemployment rate being so high. Who cares if they can woo a company with questionable tactics. At this point, I'd be just as frustrated if they got companies from other states. That simply is not what we need to be doing as a country right now. Brand new jobs or getting them back from overseas. That would be impressive.

That sure would be impressive. Something like the southeastern US has done with the foreign auto industry, which are brand new jobs for us and from overseas. Hopefully Kansas' experiment and business-friendly direction will pay off.

[SyraBrian]

Maybe the plan is to lure all the corporate types to their side and then cut down on services so that all the poor decide to relocate to your side.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by SyraBrian

Maybe the plan is to lure all the corporate types to their side and then cut down on services so that all the poor decide to relocate to your side.

Don't need people to relocate to Johnson County. And if businesses choose Kansas over Missouri, that's their prerogative. As I have said many times before, MANY Kansas City doctors relocated to Kansas a few years ago because of the high cost of malpractice insurance in Missouri. Businesses are in business to make money and do what makes the most business sense for them. If Missouri can't compete, then it makess sense that businesses would go to Kansas.

And I observed first hand the dismal state of Missouri roads when I lived in Kansas/worked in Missouri. On a snowy/icy day, my drive from my house to state line would be fine; roads cleared. Hit state line and it was a totally different story. Also, Kansas roads are smooth and maintained. Hit state line and the roads are terrible. This is true on city streets and on the highway. Just the way it is and the way it has been for many, many years.

[TabulaRasa]

Originally Posted by luzianne

Meanwile, Missouri can't afford to fix the potholes in their streets.

Really? Lee's Summit manages.