Broaden the tax base.
That is the message Congressional candidate Rob Wasinger conveyed to potential voters in Emporia during the first stop of his “Road to Victory Tour: Jobs, Vision and Values.” Wasinger, a Republican running for the Kansas First District Congressional seat vacated by Rep. Jerry Moran, kicked off his 14-day, 32-stop tour in Emporia at White Memorial Park. The tour is scheduled to travel from Emporia to Liberal, covering the entire First Congressional District.
Wasinger, 38, spoke to a small group of people in the park Tuesday morning about a variety of topics, including the loss of population across the First Congressional District, which, he said, narrows the tax base.
“Pretty much all of the counties in the First District are losing population at an alarming rate,” Wasinger said. “The problem is we have less and less people. We need to stop narrowing the tax base. If we continue to narrow the tax base it makes it hard on everybody. You’re raising taxes on fewer and fewer people.”
Wasinger said the state needs to broaden the tax base, create new jobs and give young people a reason to stay in the area and work. Wasinger said many young professionals go to college in Kansas, build up $20,000 to $30,000 in loans, then need to go to Denver or Kansas City to find jobs to pay those off.
“People want to come back,” he said. “They just don’t have opportunities.”
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