Opinion column
Views
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.