Month: April 2018

Congressman favors tax reduction

Opinion column
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by Murrel Bland

Regardless of what anyone may feel about President Donald Trump, his economic policies are working. That was the message from U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Third Dist., who spoke Friday, April 22, at Children’s Mercy Park at the monthly meeting of the Congressional Forum. The Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce sponsors the forum.

Rep. Yoder said it will be important for wages to increase and outstrip inflation in the coming months. He said that the corporate tax rate reduction will allow business owners more money to invest in equipment and additional employees. He said the typical family will receive a $2,700 annual decrease in federal taxes.

The congressman said he supported a $3 billion increase in funding for the National Institute for Health. He has said that spending money on research for such diseases as Alzheimer’s today will save money that would be needed to care for such patients later. He also favors a plan that would allow veterans to receive treatment at private-sector hospitals in areas where there are no veterans’ hospitals.

Rep. Yoder said he favors a discussion between those on both sides of the gun issue—that they might sit down and discuss areas that they might agree.

The congressman was quick to deny any interest in becoming the Speaker of the House. The present speaker, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, will be leaving Congress after his present term. He said possible candidates to succeed Rep. Ryan include U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California and U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

Mike Smallwood, who is chairman of the Chamber’s Legislative Committee, urged Rep. Yoder to support an origin-based sales tax. Smallwood said that it is very expensive for small businesses that sell items across the nation to collect sales tax among many taxing jurisdictions.

Craig Gaffney, a senior executive with Country Club Bank, said that the Dodd-Frank law puts undue regulations on smaller banks and urged reform.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is executive director of Business West.

Three Wyandotte County students initiated into Phi Kappa Phi at K-State

Three Wyandotte County students have been initiated into the Phi Kappa Phi collegiate honor society at Kansas State University.

The three students are Margaret Banach, Kansas City, Kansas; Tamesha Taylor, Kansas City, Kansas; and Cheryl Zelle, Edwardsville, Kansas.

Members of Phi Kappa Phi are nominated by the local chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of candidates for graduate degrees also may qualify.

Consumer news: Lettuce warning issued

The Centers for Disease Control are warning consumers to throw out all types of romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona, growing region.

According to a CDC warning, whole heads and hearts of romaine lettuce, along with chopped romaine, salads and salad mixes containing romaine, should be destroyed because of the potential of E. coli.

An expanded warning was recently issued by the CDC based on information from illnesses reported in Alaska. Consumers became ill after eating heads of romaine lettuce from the Yuma growing area, according to the CDC. The new information came from individuals at a correctional institution in Alaska.

For more information, visit https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/index.html.