Kansas To The Downtrodden: "Dwell In Your Misery"

This is one of the reasons why politicians get a bad name.

 

The Kansas Legislature has deemed that certain poor people shall not go to movies, among other ridiculous mandates, mixed with a handful of reasonable ones regarding how state welfare allotments should be handled.  God forbid that you try to forget some of the stresses of life for a couple of hours-or-so by enjoying a movie for what could probably be every other blue moon at best on Kansas's meager welfare budget.  MSNBC's Melissa Harris Perry had an interesting suggestion, though; let's extend Kansas's austerity rules for the poor to others not so poor, but who nonetheless receive governmental largesse of one kind or another.  Like considering Big Oil's, e.g., Exxon, et al.'s, outrageous or incomprehensible tax subsidies; maybe, their executives shouldn't be able to attend movies or plays either, or partake in some other more-or-less luxuries of life, as long as ordinary U.S. taxpayers' continue to pay their (Big Oil's) taxes, which accounts for billions of dollars in misplaced or lost tax revenue.  That's just one small sample of corporate/big shot welfare in which the Kansas Rules could be applied to.  With any luck, Kansas might accidentally help the nation stumble onto some kind of populist consciousness.

Related post on Almanac: "Yes, Virginia, the Kansas Authorities May Take Your Penpal's Mom To Jail For Taking Her To a Movie."