What's the Matter With Kansas? It's broke.

[ksen]

OR

Instead of running a deficit, government services get reduced or eliminated.

That is the plan, Right?

I don't know what happens next. If we have never seen a state run a deficit before how could anyone?

Given that Republicans argue that tax cuts lead to more state revenue why should a deficit even be a concern?

The real question haunting this discussion is now that a US state has -- for the first time ever I assume given the tone of the thread -- run a deficit,

I'm assuming that Kansas like Florida cannot run a deficit.

Well, then. If it can't happen it must not be happening.

Well, according to supply siders it can't happen because of tax cuts since cutting taxes raises state revenues.

 

[dismal]

Well, according to supply siders it can't happen because of tax cuts since cutting taxes raises state revenues.

Raises them versus what?

 

[Nice Squirrel]

I don't know what happens next. If we have never seen a state run a deficit before how could anyone?

Given that Republicans argue that tax cuts lead to more state revenue why should a deficit even be a concern?

The real question haunting this discussion is now that a US state has -- for the first time ever I assume given the tone of the thread -- run a deficit,

I'm assuming that Kansas like Florida cannot run a deficit.

Well, then. If it can't happen it must not be happening.

Well, according to supply siders it can't happen because of tax cuts since cutting taxes raises state revenues.

well if unions didn't secretly take it all.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Well, according to supply siders it can't happen because of tax cuts since cutting taxes raises state revenues.

Raises them versus what?

Versus alternative options for raising state revenues. What else could have been meant?

 

[dismal]

Raises them versus what?

Versus alternative options for raising state revenues. What else could have been meant?

No, that makes no sense.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Versus alternative options for raising state revenues. What else could have been meant?

No, that makes no sense.

What do you mean? You could raise taxes. You could cut services. You could give tax incentives for investments. You could send raiding parties into other states to destroy their products so that you can sell your own for more. You could do any of the thousands of potential other things that governments could do in order to raise revenues.

The argument in Kansas was that lowering taxes was the way to go in order to raise revenues and that argument failed.

 

[dismal]

No, that makes no sense.

What do you mean? You could raise taxes. You could cut services. You could give tax incentives for investments. You could send raiding parties into other states to destroy their products so that you can sell your own for more. You could do any of the thousands of potential other things that governments could do in order to raise revenues.

The argument in Kansas was that lowering taxes was the way to go in order to raise revenues and that argument failed.

Well, go back and look at what ksen said. He's not referring to other things like that. When he says "cutting taxes raises state revenues" I think he means versus not cutting taxes.

Of course, since ksen is saying this is what someone else is saying to be sure we ought to go back and find the what the people actually saying it actually said.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

What do you mean? You could raise taxes. You could cut services. You could give tax incentives for investments. You could send raiding parties into other states to destroy their products so that you can sell your own for more. You could do any of the thousands of potential other things that governments could do in order to raise revenues.

The argument in Kansas was that lowering taxes was the way to go in order to raise revenues and that argument failed.

Well, go back and look at what ksen said. He's not referring to other things like that. When he says "cutting taxes raises state revenues" I think he means versus not cutting taxes.

Of course, since ksen is saying this is what someone else is saying to be sure we ought to go back and find the what the people actually saying it actually said.

Yes, he's referring to how the supply siders claim that this is the most efficient way to do it. It's clearly versus alternate strategies of raising revenues or against just leaving everything the way it is.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

What do you mean? You could raise taxes. You could cut services. You could give tax incentives for investments. You could send raiding parties into other states to destroy their products so that you can sell your own for more. You could do any of the thousands of potential other things that governments could do in order to raise revenues.

The argument in Kansas was that lowering taxes was the way to go in order to raise revenues and that argument failed.

Well, go back and look at what ksen said. He's not referring to other things like that. When he says "cutting taxes raises state revenues" I think he means versus not cutting taxes.

He says that the argument is that cutting taxes leads to higher tax revenue than if taxes were not cut at all.

Of course, since ksen is saying this is what someone else is saying to be sure we ought to go back and find the what the people actually saying it actually said.

I've seen Calabi triangles less obtuse than that statement.

 

[Keith&Co.]

I've seen Calabi triangles less obtuse than that statement.

Mmm. Calabi triangles dipped in obfuscation raita...

 

[ksen]

Of course, since ksen is saying this is what someone else is saying to be sure we ought to go back and find the what the people actually saying it actually said.

I made it up.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2002/12/tax-cuts-increase-federal-revenues
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2004/06/the-laffer-curve-past-present-and-future
http://fee.org/freeman/detail/the-laffer-curve-will-tax-cuts-pay-for-themselves
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/10/12/flashback_jfk_s_1962_speech_advocating_tax_cuts
http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Ronald_Reagan_Tax_Reform.htm

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Of course, since ksen is saying this is what someone else is saying to be sure we ought to go back and find the what the people actually saying it actually said.

I made it up.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2002/12/tax-cuts-increase-federal-revenues

I love right wing spin.

Revenues exceeded that 1980 level in eight of the next 10 years. Annual revenues over the next decade averaged $102 billion above their 1980 level (in constant 1996 dollars).

Any word in there about how he raised taxes in '83 and '86?

 

[ksen]

Well, according to supply siders it can't happen because of tax cuts since cutting taxes raises state revenues.

Raises them versus what?

Raises them versus deez nuts.

 

[laughing dog]

What is fascinating about Kansas is that Brownback's tax cuts caused a large state deficit, and yet the electorate of Kansas re-elected this moron. As a result, he thinks he has a mandate to do even more damage.

 

[dismal]

Of course, since ksen is saying this is what someone else is saying to be sure we ought to go back and find the what the people actually saying it actually said.

I made it up.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2002/12/tax-cuts-increase-federal-revenues
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2004/06/the-laffer-curve-past-present-and-future
http://fee.org/freeman/detail/the-laffer-curve-will-tax-cuts-pay-for-themselves
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/10/12/flashback_jfk_s_1962_speech_advocating_tax_cuts
http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Ronald_Reagan_Tax_Reform.htm

Can you point us to the ones where people are saying the Kansas tax cuts will make revnues go up?

The Laffer curve if I recall makes no such General pronouncement.

 

[Axulus]

Another view:

Looking at these bigger-picture numbers, we see that Kansas nonfarm jobs grew by 2.4 percent between December 2012 and January 2015. In Missouri during the same timeframe, nonfarm jobs increased by 1.9 percent. This more stable, accurate comparison of average annual employment reveals Kansas to be growing faster than Missouri – whether you use nonfarm or private-sector employment figures.

Also, since Brownback’s tax reform, private-sector GDP has increased in Kansas. The Tax Foundation shows Kansas outperforming the 50-state average in 2013 (the numbers for 2014 aren’t yet available), as well as far outperforming the ten states with the highest state and local tax burden. In the fourteen years prior to tax reform, Kansas lagged behind.

The growth of small businesses in Kansas is at an annual rate of 6 percent – higher than the national average and higher than the growth in any neighboring states, including Missouri. In the 2013 tax year, more than 8,600 first-time small-business filers invigorated the state’s economy with more than $486 million in new income.'

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rexsinq...h-is-on-the-rebound-look-at-the-real-numbers/

For the first two months of the year, Kansas increased its non-farm jobs by 9,500 and the private sector added 9,000 jobs for March.

In a state-to-state comparison, Kansas placed 2nd in private-sector jobs growth in February.

Private-sector jobs from February 2014 to February 2015 grew by 21,200 — one of the most significant increases in the country.

Kansas surpassed all neighboring states except Colorado in private job gains over the year.

n private-sector hourly wages, Kansas beat all neighboring states except Nebraska.

Private-sector hourly wage estimates for January were revised upward, showing that Kansas gained 3.4% rather than 3.2% in hourly pay.

In month of February, Kansas hit a new record in hourly wage gains of 61 cents an hour.

Kansans are making an average of $25.52 more each week, while only having to work an average of 12 minutes longer.”

Compared to February last year, Kansas City, Kansas’s private sector average hourly wages were higher than in Kansas City, Missouri by 55 cents.

Unrelated to February data, Kansas has one of the highest employment-to-population ratios in the U.S., at 65.2%.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rexsinq...x-cuts-making-kansas-a-more-prosperous-state/

Seeded With Tax Cuts, Kansas Harvests the Benefits

Unemployment has dropped to 4.2% from 5.5% in 2013, and wages and job growth are steadily climbing.

In March 2013, unemployment in Kansas stood at 5.5%. It has since dropped to 4.2%, tied for 14th lowest in the country.

• From 1998-2012, Kansas ranked 38th in private-sector job growth, according Bureau of Labor Statistics data crunched by the Kansas Policy Institute. In 2013—the first year after the tax reform—the state climbed to 27th place, and in 2014 it moved to 21st, placing it in the top half of states.

• In the second half of 2014, hourly wages in Kansas grew 3.5%, according to BLS data, far faster than the national average of 1.9%.

Then there is the Kansas City metropolitan area, a living laboratory that straddles the border with Missouri. On Mr. Brownback’s side of the divide, the top personal income-tax rate is now 4.9%, beginning at $15,000 for single filers; in Missouri the top 6% rate starts at $9,000.

“I just think Kansas City is a great study,” the governor says. “This is an unusual place, where you’ve got a city virtually equally divided between two states.” The results? Over the past two calendar years, private-sector jobs increased by 5.6% on the Kansas side and only 2.2% on the Missouri. In the same period hourly wages grew $1.22 on the Kansas side, compared with $0.61 on the Missouri side.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/seeded-with-tax-cuts-kansas-harvests-the-benefits-1431729743

 

[Axulus]

What is fascinating about Kansas is that Brownback's tax cuts caused a large state deficit, and yet the electorate of Kansas re-elected this moron. As a result, he thinks he has a mandate to do even more damage.

Maybe they preferred the much faster wage growth and the slightly faster job growth compared to neighboring states (except Colorado) that Kansas has experienced during his incumbency and are willing to suffer less government services to obtain those benefits. Not really sure how that makes them morons, but that kind of attitude really does highlight a kind of arrogant elitism that makes the left unpopular with voters.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

Another view:



http://www.forbes.com/sites/rexsinq...h-is-on-the-rebound-look-at-the-real-numbers/

For the first two months of the year, Kansas increased its non-farm jobs by 9,500 and the private sector added 9,000 jobs for March.

In a state-to-state comparison, Kansas placed 2nd in private-sector jobs growth in February.

Private-sector jobs from February 2014 to February 2015 grew by 21,200 — one of the most significant increases in the country.

Kansas surpassed all neighboring states except Colorado in private job gains over the year.

n private-sector hourly wages, Kansas beat all neighboring states except Nebraska.

Private-sector hourly wage estimates for January were revised upward, showing that Kansas gained 3.4% rather than 3.2% in hourly pay.

In month of February, Kansas hit a new record in hourly wage gains of 61 cents an hour.

Kansans are making an average of $25.52 more each week, while only having to work an average of 12 minutes longer.”

Compared to February last year, Kansas City, Kansas’s private sector average hourly wages were higher than in Kansas City, Missouri by 55 cents.

Unrelated to February data, Kansas has one of the highest employment-to-population ratios in the U.S., at 65.2%.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rexsinq...x-cuts-making-kansas-a-more-prosperous-state/

Seeded With Tax Cuts, Kansas Harvests the Benefits

Unemployment has dropped to 4.2% from 5.5% in 2013, and wages and job growth are steadily climbing.

In March 2013, unemployment in Kansas stood at 5.5%. It has since dropped to 4.2%, tied for 14th lowest in the country.

• From 1998-2012, Kansas ranked 38th in private-sector job growth, according Bureau of Labor Statistics data crunched by the Kansas Policy Institute. In 2013—the first year after the tax reform—the state climbed to 27th place, and in 2014 it moved to 21st, placing it in the top half of states.

• In the second half of 2014, hourly wages in Kansas grew 3.5%, according to BLS data, far faster than the national average of 1.9%.

Then there is the Kansas City metropolitan area, a living laboratory that straddles the border with Missouri. On Mr. Brownback’s side of the divide, the top personal income-tax rate is now 4.9%, beginning at $15,000 for single filers; in Missouri the top 6% rate starts at $9,000.

“I just think Kansas City is a great study,” the governor says. “This is an unusual place, where you’ve got a city virtually equally divided between two states.” The results? Over the past two calendar years, private-sector jobs increased by 5.6% on the Kansas side and only 2.2% on the Missouri. In the same period hourly wages grew $1.22 on the Kansas side, compared with $0.61 on the Missouri side.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/seeded-with-tax-cuts-kansas-harvests-the-benefits-1431729743

Why are the schools closing early?

 

[Axulus]

Another view:



http://www.forbes.com/sites/rexsinq...h-is-on-the-rebound-look-at-the-real-numbers/



http://www.forbes.com/sites/rexsinq...x-cuts-making-kansas-a-more-prosperous-state/

Seeded With Tax Cuts, Kansas Harvests the Benefits

Unemployment has dropped to 4.2% from 5.5% in 2013, and wages and job growth are steadily climbing.

In March 2013, unemployment in Kansas stood at 5.5%. It has since dropped to 4.2%, tied for 14th lowest in the country.

• From 1998-2012, Kansas ranked 38th in private-sector job growth, according Bureau of Labor Statistics data crunched by the Kansas Policy Institute. In 2013—the first year after the tax reform—the state climbed to 27th place, and in 2014 it moved to 21st, placing it in the top half of states.

• In the second half of 2014, hourly wages in Kansas grew 3.5%, according to BLS data, far faster than the national average of 1.9%.

Then there is the Kansas City metropolitan area, a living laboratory that straddles the border with Missouri. On Mr. Brownback’s side of the divide, the top personal income-tax rate is now 4.9%, beginning at $15,000 for single filers; in Missouri the top 6% rate starts at $9,000.

“I just think Kansas City is a great study,” the governor says. “This is an unusual place, where you’ve got a city virtually equally divided between two states.” The results? Over the past two calendar years, private-sector jobs increased by 5.6% on the Kansas side and only 2.2% on the Missouri. In the same period hourly wages grew $1.22 on the Kansas side, compared with $0.61 on the Missouri side.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/seeded-with-tax-cuts-kansas-harvests-the-benefits-1431729743

Why are the schools closing early?

In part because the schools aren't managing their budgets all that well:

overall education funding increased, topping $4 billion for the first time.

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/a...e-early-as-brownback-tax-cuts-squeeze-revenue

They may want to consider cutting non-essential admin salaries and positions and keep the schools open.

 

[Axulus]

http://www.kansasopengov.org/SchoolDistricts/SpendingPerPupil/tabid/1271/Default.aspx

Did anyone hear about the lengthy school shutdowns in Kansas in 2005 or perhaps 2011 when funds per student were lower? I sure didn't.