In his day job, Crosby Kemper III is the director of the Kansas City Public Library. In his personal time, he's a founding member of the Show-Me Institute, a libertarian think tank run by super-rich St. Louis businessman Rex Sinquefield.
So when petitions for Sinquefield's ballot initiative to repeal the earnings tax showed up in library lobbies and speakers co-sponsored by Show-Me appeared on the library's events' calendar, some Kansas City residents raised their eyebrows and asked, "Are the political leanings of the library director coloring the public institution?"
Kemper says those rumors are unfounded.
Kemper isn't shy about his opinion. He's happy to relate that the Show-Me Institute has researched the earnings tax, a 1 percent levy on the earnings of anybody who lives or works in Kansas City, Missouri, and thinks it's a bad idea. "The earnings tax is pretty obvious," he says. "You don't have to win the Nobel Prize in economics to understand this one."
If Kansas City has a tax that, say, Overland Park does not, Kemper suggests, that tax drives out individuals and businesses. "There's been huge movement outside the city to everywhere but Kansas City, Missouri," he says. "There's more than one reason. Crime is a reason. Education is a reason. But the earnings tax is a reason as well. Our [the Show-Me Institute's] research shows that, and it shows that not only looking at Kansas City and St. Louis, but 25 or so other cities in the U.S. And it's interesting that, of the 200 largest cities, only 25 of them have an earnings tax. That tells you something."
(Of course, that tax props up more than 40 percent of Kansas City's already dismally short budget and city leaders say its elimination would be nothing short of catastrophic.)
Kemper says he's supportive of the Show-Me Institute's research and willing to express his personal views, as he did on KMBZ 980 when the subject came up during a guest co-hosting gig on the Shanin and Parks show. But Kemper says he isn't working with Sinquefield to put a referendum that could repeal the earnings tax on the ballot. "I had dinner with Rex [Sinquefield] a week ago, and he told me what he's doing, but I'm not directly involved in the campaign to put it on the ballot," he says. "I'm not funding it. I'm still registered to vote in Kansas, so I'm not going to vote on it. I haven't even signed the petition."
But other Kansas City residents are getting the opportunity to sign within the walls of the library. Workers paid to collect signatures to get the earnings tax repeal on the ballot have become a common sight at the Plaza and Southeast branches over the past several weeks. That's not the first, or only, petition being circulated, Kemper says. "As far as the library goes, we have a policy I established that I think is unique among libraries in the U.S.," he says. "I want to encourage political discourse of all kinds, so we've opened the library to petition gatherers and other forms of political speech."
The policy started in 2007, after then-Kansas City mayoral candidate, Henry Klein, approached library staff about collecting signatures within their buildings. The library's board of directors came up with a policy governing the behavior of such political speech and a variety of organizations have taken advantage. "ACORN has been in the library," Kemper says. "Candidates have been in the library. Local petitions and statewide petitions have been in the library."
Still, rumors swirl when a library event is co-sponsored by the Show-Me Institute (such as this one on "Obamanomics"). But for every conservative Harvard economist who speaks at the library, Kemper says, there's a liberal academic like Leonard Zeskind or activist like Charles Hardy.
"If you actually look at the number of programs we're doing and the political tilt of those programs, you've got to have some form of willed ignorance," he says of claims that his politics influence library affairs. "[Some people are] suspicious of me because of my last name and I'm a conservative Republican, etcetera, etcetera, but it would be nice if those people, if they really care about free speech, actually pay attention to what we're doing. We're presenting more conversation, more information and knowledge about all of our politics, all things going on in public life, than any other public library in the United States."
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1) The Etax covers 38 percent of our general fund in KCMO. That's your trash pick-up, road maintenance, ambulance service, police force, firemen, snow removal. I don't know how many new residents we'll gain if we lose a HUGE percentage of our funding for those very vital services.
2) We, the PEOPLE will pay way more than one percent of our earnings to make up for these losses. Fee-Based Trash Service, Increased utility taxes, Increased Crime in our area, increased wait-time when we call 911. I would rather put my one percent in the pot, thanks.
3) This has never been an "imposed tax". Certainly not "taxation without representation". The earnings tax was first approved by voters in 1963 (in the amount of ½ of 1%) and was increased to 1% by voters in 1970.
4) Scroll to the bottom of this page for a list of (quite a few) businesses in support of this tax. www.keepkcalive.com
Crosby # III has impressed me with his enthusiastic and more than competent and creative management of the Kansas City, Mo. Library System.
He made me proud that a third generation very, rich guy could take charge of a library and make it work. Most third generation rich guys sink their companies ie Mr. Toyda.
It now appears that Mr. Kemper has a dual political agenda. Appearances are real and this one doesn't pass the smell test...... Public good (Libraries) vs. Personal profit no taxes
My question: How does Crosby# III think we, over taxed KC, Mo. residents, fund our wonderful library system in the future, when his "think tank" wants to sink it? Does Mr.Crosby Kemper#3 represent both the library system and the wingnut interests of the Show Me wack jobs? I think I just stated and oxymoron.
This, socalled "think tank" (Can you say Tea Partiers?) has very deep pockets to politicize this and destroy one of the few real sucesses in Kansas City. Thanks Crosby # 3.
I'm not a genius, but Mr Sinquefield and the common public good, ie. libraries are not in cinque ( pun indended). What are you thinking Mr Crosby Kemper # Three?
I believe the tax payers of Kansas City deserve your honest response. According to The Star this morning, you have been a very active member of this Sinquefield "thoughless tank" for five years. Have you been funding this in any way. Why are we just now finding out!!!! I should have checked you out at the library!
Mary M. Steeb
Hawkfan, Sinquefield is clearly saying there IS a problem, but he's not providing a solution.
Instead, he's trying to get the tax repeal on the ballot by harvesting signatures at the library.
From there, any hare-brained fiscal jackassery can be passed by uninformed voters. Light rail, anyone?
The e-tax needs to go, no doubt, but the petition offers no alternative ideas on how to deal with the gap a repeal would leave. It needs to be slowly phased out rather than a immediate 100% repeal, but the petition makes no mention of any alternative ideas. It's typical conservative nihilism.
jjskck, you can't start identifying a solution until people recognize there's a problem. Right now, the city council is solely dwelling on the fact that the etax generates a substantial amount of revenue. They haven't spent a second of time looking at the damage to the city's growth that it's caused. The history is there and the statistics are dreadful.
The etax has been around 50 years and KC has had 0 population growth in 50 years. None. The past 20 years, KC has actually had a net loss of jobs. We're not even talking slow growth...a loss. Job and population growth in this metro is so lopsided toward Kansas, it's not even funny. Johnson County adds more jobs and people every year than what KC does in decades and before you think that's an unfair comparison, KCMO is actually geographically larger than the populated part of JoCo. KC is its own worst enemy.
As public spaces, libraries I imagine would have a hard time turning away petition gatherers. There just needs to be a policy in place that guarantees equitable access and a minimum of interference with patrons.
I fully agree that the earnings tax does KCMO no favors when trying to compete with surrounding communities for residents and commerce.
But--and this applies locally and nationally--you can't say "get rid of this tax" unless you tell me how you're going to cover the shortfall you just created.
Show me (heh) your plan to cut spending or raise taxes elsewhere, and I'll listen.
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