The natural reaction to news of across-the-board state budget cuts is for us all to cinch in our belts. OVER THE NEXT 18 months legislators will be forced to cut almost $1 billion from state programs in order to balance the budget.
That, of course, is opposite to what Gov. Sam Brownback wants. Rather, he urges us to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit, knowing “the sun is shining on Kansas.”
Like the Great and Powerful Oz, Brownback tells us to pay no attention to how state affairs are conducted, while he promotes the myth that a tax-free Kansas is luring industries our way.
The truth pulls the curtain away.
Fact is, Kansas revenues are way down and it ranks far below the national average in creating new jobs for 2014.
The reason? Brownback’s goal to eliminate the personal income tax and exempt 191,000 private businesses from income taxes has left us underfunded.
The result is massive cuts to education and other public sector jobs, emasculating the state as a whole.
This self-concocted austerity has manifested itself into a true crisis.
Low pay also keeps outsiders away. States that have raised their minimum wages have not witnessed industrial flight. Instead, they see job growth and less turnover because, surprise, employees like to be rewarded for their efforts
It also follows that well-paid workers tend to spend more.
That sends a message of doom and gloom, confirmed by financial houses lowering the state’s credit rating making it more expensive for prospective industries to do business here.
Now in the third year of trending income tax rates to zero, there’s no reason to expect a different outcome. For those legislators who are still holding out that these supply side economics will kick in, the sand has run out.
To revive the economy Kansas must reverse course.
It’s always been in our nature to invest in ourselves — our schools, roads, pension programs, health departments, etc.
We know you don’t get something for nothing. Why our governor and his cohorts think we should, is the mystery.
— Susan Lynn
Truth pulls curtain away from myth of Brownback’s budget
