To the editor:

What’s the matter with Kansas? Gov. Brownback apparently knows the answer: There is nothing wrong with Kansas that can’t be fixed by an unqualified out-of-state “expert.” First, an inexperienced import from Florida “fixed” our social services system. Now, Arthur Laffer, a discredited Reaganomics retread from Nashville, has pocketed $75,000 for “fixing” our tax structure — so that the less one earns, the less one keeps!

Mr. Laffer assures us that a whopping tax increase for the very poorest Kansans will pay for itself by being “plowed back” into government programs to “help” these same people. But doesn’t this make low-income families more, rather than less, dependent on government? And isn’t that strategy merely a liberal ploy to subjugate individuals to the welfare state?

Mr. Laffer’s public defense of his proposals is laughably false:

l “Reducing taxes on high-earning individuals will create jobs.” No. Jobs are created by prosperous businesses, not individuals; individuals usually invest by acquiring existing wealth rather than creating new opportunities.

l “Taxing earned income is a disincentive for people to work.” No. How many of us plan on quitting our jobs to avoid paying income tax? In fact, the real economic disincentive is the regressive sales tax Mr. Laffer prefers.

But all these problems are just the tip of an iceberg. If there is no taxation without representation, how do out-of-state “consultants” and secret “advisory” committees represent the taxpayers of Kansas? Maybe there is something the matter with Kansas — and maybe we should send it back to Nashville!