Money talks, KC walks

The Star has a good overview of why Kansas City often seems to play second fiddle to St. Louis on the state and national level. One word: Money. While the ‘Lou has 30% more people than Cowtown, it has contributed four times as much money to the Bush and Kerry presidential campaigns. Also, while KC is the country’s 25th largest metro area, we only rank 45th in the contributions to the presidential candidates.

“The practical effect is felt every day,” said Henry Rizzo, a longtime Democratic politician from Kansas City. The area routinely gets out-legislated and out-lobbied in Jefferson City and Washington, he said.

This translates into less money for our roads, stadiums, schools, etc. KC ranks as one of the top metro areas for philanthropic giving and charity, but perhaps we need to shift some of the money to the political side.