By NICK SLOAN, nick@kansascitykansan.com
KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- In the past few months, the State of Kansas' bond rating has been lowered.
During that same stretch, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County was warned that it's bond rating could also see a downgrade as a result of a budget crisis that threatens to shrink the county's cash reserve.
As I write the following, the national debt in the United States is over $17.5 trillion. This number will probably grow by millions of dollars by the time you've read this.
These three financial issues are why I'm very proud of the seniors at Washington High School for protesting and simply questioning where their money was going and how it was being used after graduation plans were changed.
After paying the fee and having plans changed, they had a right to know where their money was going and how it would be used.
We all can learn from this.
Americans simply do not question where their money goes anymore. We get grumpy about paying taxes, but rarely do we even know how much of our taxes go where and to whom.
Just as Washington's students deserved answers about their $50 fee, taxpayers should demand and receive the proper transparency of where exactly their hard-earned tax-dollars go.
If more Americans demanded specific answers about local, state and federal budgets, I'd bet government would be at least a little better.
Here's hoping the students graduating this month from Washington High School will apply what they did this week to the real world when it comes to taxes and government.
