Members of the Kansas House last week either shot themselves in the foot…or didn’t. It’s too early to tell.

The issue was that bill that would essentially kill the now famous/infamous Kansas income tax exemption for Limited Liability Companies, some small corporations, the self-employed and, yes, many farmers.

If there is a genuine lightning rod for voter interest, it is probably who pays taxes and who doesn’t…and then why do I have to?

It comes out that simple.

For the last two years, as Kansas tax revenues have grown slowly and the state’s budget balance has shrunk, and now disappeared, the focus on those business tax cuts has sharpened. We all know about the 330,000 Kansans who don’t pay income tax to the state while most of the rest of Kansans do…though at lower rates that were part of the LLC tax elimination legislation that nobody talks about out loud.

That business tax elimination has become even more questionable as the Legislature had to raise sales taxes last year.

So, when the House demanded a vote on repealing the tax exemption of those 330,000 Kansans that we all read about but don’t know by name and address, the chamber killed the bill, 74-45. So, 74 members thought the tax exemption is OK, 45 don’t.

[polldaddy poll=9406048]

Count on every vote to become the subject of a campaign flyer or phone call or social media attack. And, the House wanted that recorded vote?

You almost have to wonder why. Republican or Democrat, that’s probably the vote that will be the most volatile of the campaign season. A vote to eliminate that tax exemption is a vote to raise taxes. A vote against reimposing the income tax on those LLCs, and you are not raising taxes. Who’s against not raising taxes?

Which is where it will be interesting this election cycle on House races. (Killing the bill in the House means the Senate didn’t have to vote on it.)

Those 45 folks who voted to tax LLCs can if they are bright point out that many of those LLCs are small but prosperous and the owners of those tax-free enterprises live next door, down the street or around the corner, or work out at the same health club that taxpayers do.

Those 74 who voted against the tax, well, we’re figuring that voting “no” on raising taxes is about as far as they’re going to want to do in explaining their votes at campaign forums or on doorsteps this summer.

There are probably districts where there is strong opposition to those LLCs not paying taxes, and there are districts where those LLC owners will help finance the campaigns and vote for House members who voted to let them retain their tax-free status.

That’s what makes the vote interesting…. Those 45 votes to re-impose taxes on LLCs included 31 Republicans, generally the party that isn’t for taxing, well, about anything. Wonder what their opponents are going to have on their campaign flyers?

And, the vote against re-imposing those new taxes included half the House’s Democrats, who generally aren’t shy about taxing the rich or businesses.

Real question might be why the House would want to vote on the issue at all. If those 330,000 tax-free Kansans all lived in the same district, well, we know about helping your constituents, which is good politics. But the problem there is that unless they put “LLC” on their business cards, it’s hard to know which of your neighbors, or voters, are benefitting from the exemption.

Some are probably wondering why some legislator didn’t think of a requirement that those LLC owners, to qualify for the tax exemption, would have to get “LLC” tattooed on their necks…

Syndicated by Hawver News Co. of Topeka, Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report. To learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit www.hawvernews.com.

When it comes to protein, eggs remain the gold standard, because the high quality protein in eggs provides the mental and physical energy we all need.

Yes, eating eggs is good news if you want to remain healthy. Eggs provide a healthy immune system, optimal brain health and may check hunger pains.

Research shows a deficiency in protein can deplete immune cells and contribute to the body’s inability to make antibodies. Amino acids including glutamine and arginine are now being considered as nutrition therapy in pre-surgery patients because of their ability to stimulate the immune system. Conveniently, those amino acids are found in eggs.

Eggs should be part of a diet that also includes fish and meat that are chock full of complete proteins.

But what about all the cholesterol in eggs?

No doubt, eggs remain one of the most concentrated sources of cholesterol.

Medical research indicates, however, that cholesterol in food has a much smaller effect on blood levels of total cholesterol and harmful Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol than does the mix of fats in your diet.

There is some evidence that eating whole eggs increases High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) the good cholesterol that protects the heart.

Heart disease risk increased among men and women with diabetes who ate one or more eggs a day. People with both diabetes and heart disease should limit the eggs they eat to no more than three per week, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

For healthy folks, nutrients specific to the egg yolk can help promote health. Like most cholesterol-rich foods, eggs are filled with necessary nutrients. The yolk contains most of an egg’s fat-soluble vitamins, essential fatty acids and nutrients.

Medical research maintains yolks are one of the richest dietary sources of choline. This essential amino acid nutrient contributes to brain health by maintaining the structure of your brain cell membranes. The variety of nutrients in an egg yolk is so inclusive, eggs offer better insurance than a multi-vitamin.

A diet rich in choline provides the body with so-called happy hormones. When they break down, these hormones produce serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.

Egg yolks also contain a big dose of sulfur. Sulfur helps with everything from vitamin B absorption to liver function. This nutrient aids collagen and keratin production, which creates and maintains healthy hair, strong nails and glowing skin.

Egg whites are also a low-calorie, low-fat source of protein. Some research indicates diets rich in high-quality protein found in eggs, may help promote weight loss and prevent weight gain in adults.

There’s evidence meals high in protein will, during the long term, reduce body fats, according to Heather Leidy, Ph.D. in nutrition and exercise at the University of Missouri. High-protein breakfasts may be especially helpful in weight loss because they may help control appetite and decrease food intake throughout the rest of the day.

No doubt about it – eggs are good for our health.

John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.

Headlines have declared that this spring has seen the breakthrough in “virtual reality” (VR) media. Facebook released the Oculus Rift headset on March 28. Right behind it was the HTC Vive and the SONY PlayStation VR.

The hype behind VR is that it creates an “immersive environment” similar to the real world. First pitched in the 1990s—VR was poor quality and an immediate failure. But this new technology has Goldman Sachs predicting the VR industry will become bigger than television in the next ten years.

The new VR systems provide goggles with high definition resolution and a flicker speed far beyond what the human eye can detect. This is combined with movement sensors that detect head tilt and give the wearer the impression that they are in a real visual environment. Stereo headphones provide directional sound. A person wearing this head mounted display can “look around” and believe that they are in an artificial world.

More advanced “haptic” systems add the senses of smell and touch, the later through wired gloves or other devices. The goal is to convince the user of their “telexistence” or “telepresence.” So far, all of these expensive headsets also require expensive and specialized personal computers.

The industry hype that these “virtual worlds” possess all of the qualities of real world interactions has not been lost on the educational futurists who can hardly wait to have the first school on their block to brag about having this advanced technology.

Unfortunately, this simulation technology is worse than useless. Besides being orders of magnitude more expensive than genuine learning experiences, it lacks three important properties that real experiences have: true interaction, test-truthfulness, and real consequences. We know this because computer simulations invaded our classrooms as soon as personal computers became commonplace.

They all claim to be “interactive.” This was printed on the label of every simulation from 8-inch floppy discs to current thumb drives and cloud-based media. But the “interaction” of typing a keyboard or clicking a mouse to crossbreed fruit flies is nothing like actually handling the real flies (and having most of them drown in banana culture). And while we may lift our kids into the “seat” of a video-arcade “racing car,” we certainly know not to accept this performance as readiness to drive a real car.

Only the real world provides “test truthfulness.” Cross a hundred generations of fruit flies with dominant and recessive traits in simulation and the 3-to-1 ratio comes out textbook perfect. Not so in the real world. The value of real labs and other real experiences is that there is variation from the norm. Sure you can “program in” the variation; but the students’ know that variation was scripted as well. The real world is not scripted.

“Real consequences” are vital to learning in the real world. Even the student who flunks out of high school is careful to drive on the right side of the road. Why? To not stay in the lane is to face the real consequences of crashing. Get “killed” in a videogame or VR simulation and you just quit and walk away.
We can blindfold students for a day and tell them that this is what it is like to be blind. But it is not! At the end of the day the student can remove the blindfold. The blind person cannot.

Woody Allen once said: “I hate reality, but it’s still the best place to get a good steak.”

Reality is also be best place to get a good education.