Kent Thompson, Ninth District representative, compared the state’s financial circumstances to a leaky rowboat, whose occupants keep rowing and bailing, barely able to stay afloat. “Why not just pull ashore and fix the hole?” he queried.
So what is going to occur, with revenue collections already $61 million short of projections in the first two months of fiscal year 2016?
Well, considering Gov. Brownback has no intention of supporting new taxes or spending cuts, “He’ll go to KDOT,” Thompson said.
That’s the Kansas Department of Transportation, whose funds have already been tapped to fill holes in the state budget.
This all came about because of the governor’s conviction in trickle-down economics. The theory goes that if the captains of industry pay less in taxes, they will invest the windfall on expansions and new enterprises and create jobs of which the outcome should be additional payroll taxes to more than make up for lost income tax revenue.
To facilitate the theory, Brownback, in cahoots with the vast conservative element in the Legislature, cut income taxes. Last fiscal year revenue hovered $400 million short of the budget’s break-even point mandated by the state’s cash-basis law until legislators voted to increase the statewide sales tax, which beleaguered the poor.
The fervent wish of every Kansan should be that the tax-cutting strategy works, but history tells a different story. Similar tactics have been tried and the only place money has trickled down is to the pockets of the rich.
The FY 2015 shortfall was mended with a half-cent sales tax and block-grant funding for schools, which proponents assured increased revenue for public schools, which it did — in a convoluted way. With retirement and special education funding as well as property tax relief in local option budgets as part of the mix, funding is higher, but money going to basic education isn’t.
Also, it should be noted, said Dr. Craig Neuenswander, director of school finance for the Kansas Department of Education and former USD 257 superintendent, the increase in special education funding of about $6 million is just one tenth of 1 percent of total funding for K-12. “That still is significantly short of the statutorily required amount of state aid for special education,” he observed.
For the last several years the Legislature, with Brownback’s blessing, has been shortchanging public schools. A strong public education system is the backbone of society. Good, productive schools encourage industry and new residents, and give students much better chances of being successful when they enter the work-a-day world.
If there is a trickle-down economic theory that works, it is to adequately invest in schools. Then we can all reap the benefits of a well-educated populace.
Kansas sailing in a leaky boat, with no hope for a rescue (column)
