This past Friday, March 17, Kansas Department of Revenue Economist Michael Austin submitted an article ​comparing the Kansas labor market to a bathtub​, equating positive job growth to the tub being “full.” He notes that the inspiration for the article came from bathtime with his two-year-old son. I congratulate Mr. Austin on being a first-time parent, but would like to remind him that Kansans are not children, and should not be spoken to as if we were.

The labor market of our state is not a porcelain tub of lukewarm water. It’s a complex system that affects the lives of everyone within our community, and Austin’s simplistic metaphor serves only to patronize readers, and to diminish and obscure the very real problems in the labor market under Governor Brownback.

Mr. Austin points to growth within the private sector as a sign of victory for his boss’ policies. He neglects to mention that the overall percentage of the population over 16 in the labor force has decreased since 2010, according to the US Census Bureau. He makes no mention of the fact that when the Kansas Department of Labor gathers employment statistics, that “no distinction is made between full-time or part-time work.” He glosses over the facts that more than 70,000 households in Kansas make less than $10,000 per year, and that 10% of all families in Kansas exist below the poverty level.

What’s more, his essential conceit, that the needs of some “bathtubs” are different than others, rings hollow. From January 2016 to January 2017, Kansas has had a negative job growth rate, and in fact ranks as the seventh worst job growth in the nation, according to the US Department of Labor. I can’t speak for you, Mr. Austin, but if I had close to the worst water pressure in my neighborhood, I’d call a plumber. Or I’d fire the one I’d been using.

Nathan Elwood, Librarian, Fort Hays State University