Note: The Lawrence Times runs opinion columns and letters to the Times written by community members with varying perspectives on local issues. These pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Times staff.
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Living beyond one’s means seems a common philosophy these days. It’s a path made easier with loans and creditors, as growth and development goals take precedence over economic and environmental risk. The economic collapse of 2008, the pandemic and continuing climate crises are examples of successful adjustments that accommodate a justification of spending beyond one’s means.
The local governmental commissions and boards whose reliance on property tax increases to support the tax incentives that allow companies and developers who seemingly can’t afford their dreams without these incentives are definitely creating stress on those property owners living on fixed or limited incomes who previously were living within their means.
— Tom Guba (he/him), Lawrence
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More Community Voices:
Mackenzie Clark/Lawrence Times
Clay Wirestone: I knew Kansas officials would overstep after Marion raid. I didn’t expect it to be in Lawrence. (Column)
”The fiasco in Marion generated national attention. This dustup in Douglas County will likely fly under the radar, given that it was conducted in the far more restrained forum of legal filings. But we should all be on notice,” Clay Wirestone writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Letter to the Times: Turning neighborhoods into marketplaces without children
”There is a long-term financial advantage for cities to stabilize their modest housing stock and the infrastructure which already exists by utilizing district overlays that provide a level playing field for working families to buy into the market and become long-term residents,” Deborah Snyder writes in this letter to the Times.
