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

[AthenaAwakened]

TOPEKA, Kan., May 4 (UPI) -- Several Kansas schools will begin closing early for the summer due to an $800 million budget deficit created by income-tax cuts established by Gov. Sam Brownback.

Dozens of schools in the state have already eliminated or cut programs. At least eight school districts lost funding this fiscal year because of state tax collections were lower than expected.


The Republican governor labelled his heavy 2012 and 2013 income tax reductions as "an experiment," aiming to end the income tax altogether. Brownback and the Republican-controlled legislature said the tax cuts would increase economic activity that would compensate for missing state revenue.

The benefits expected by the Republican politicians have not been seen, but larger revenue losses have been. Brownback and his supporters claim the benefits need more time to materialize.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2015...0-million-state-budget-deficit/9901430734358/

The consequences in Kansas, after all, are a result of fulfilling the great Laffer Curve dream that has Republican presidential hopefuls such as Marco Rubio, Scott Walker and Chris Christie all salivating: dramatic tax cuts, concentrated among those at the top, coupled with the promise that such action will, through trickle-down voodoo, increase tax revenue and boost economic growth.

ADVERTISING

In the real world, politicians rarely get to carry out that budget plan in a big way. Then Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) came along and, with a Republican legislature on his side, passed sweeping tax cuts in 2012. Despite faith-based forecasts promising bountiful revenue, tax receipts have come in, again and again, hundreds of million dollars below projections. The latest estimates leave the state with a $422 million shortfall for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

But rather than acknowledging that this tax “experiment,” as it’s been white-washed, has failed and needs to be reversed, Brownback and Republican legislators have mostly doubled down. To make up for the shortfalls, the state has hacked away at core services, from roads to welfare.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...d6ca70-ef74-11e4-a55f-38924fca94f9_story.html

So we fail our students (our future workforce) by cutting their school year (making said future workforce less attractive to business) and this will grow the economy...


HOW?

 

[none]

voodoo, have some faith

 

[NobleSavage]

I've driven HW 70 from St. Louis to Denver many times. It's not a bad drive, except for that little part called Kansas.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Working as designed.

 

[Ford]

Well it would have worked just fine if it weren't for Obama and the liberal Democrats in Congress!

The Kansas economic miracle is just around the corner, but is being held back by class warfare against the job creators who want desperately to come to Kansas and partake of the low-tax goodness, but they've been terrified by Obama's job-killing policies!

See, that's why we have to wait. Wait until a Republican like Scott Walker gets in the White House, bust the unions, lowers taxes on the "job creators," and kicks the entire economy into high gear like Kansas would be and should be experiencing but can't because Democrats socialism illegal immigrants Benghazi Benghazi Benghazi.

 

[Nice Squirrel]

Don't worry people the new restrictions on food stamps and abortions will swell the coffers.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

This would be funny except for all the innocent people who are being hurt by their idiotic philosophy. That just makes it sad.

 

[Valjean]

Supply side "Reaganomics" has never worked. How many decades does it take for Republicans to get this through their heads?

 

[Ford]

How many decades does it take for Republicans to get this through their heads?

How many decades you got?

 

[braces_for_impact]

And now they're trying to limit withdrawals from TANF to $25 a day. That'll fix it.

 

[Nice Squirrel]

And now they're trying to limit withdrawals from TANF to $25 a day. That'll fix it.

But it's clearly the moochers. If they just got jobs as business owners all would be solved.

 

[ksen]

Supply side "Reaganomics" has never worked. How many decades does it take for Republicans to get this through their heads?

What makes you think they don't already know and just don't care?

 

[dismal]

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, what parade of horribles will surely follow?

Dogs and cats living together?

 

[AthenaAwakened]

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, what parade of horribles will surely follow?

Dogs and cats living together?

OR

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

That is the plan, Right?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

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, what parade of horribles will surely follow?

Dogs and cats living together?

Interesting spin. Kansas drastically cuts taxes in order to explode revenue, deficits result. Left-wingers point and do a Nelson laugh and dismal's response is... "What, this never happened before?"

 

[Horatio Parker]

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, what parade of horribles will surely follow?

Dogs and cats living together?

Interesting spin. Kansas drastically cuts taxes in order to explode revenue, deficits result. Left-wingers point and do a Nelson laugh and dismal's response is... "What, this never happened before?"

Exactly. The miracle prosperity of the free market falls by the wayside without a word. Now it's, "s'matter? never seen a fiscal problem before?"

 

[scombrid]

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. It has to shut stuff down when the money runs out. Pay as you go.

I'm wondering why the miracle revenue expansion didn't occur and whether or not any tricklers have any good excuse why supply-side failed yet again to enhance revenue.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

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, what parade of horribles will surely follow?

Dogs and cats living together?

Interesting spin. Kansas drastically cuts taxes in order to explode revenue, deficits result. Left-wingers point and do a Nelson laugh and dismal's response is... "What, this never happened before?"

Ya, running a deficit can be fine if you're getting something in return for that deficit, such as increased services. If you're losing money simply because of a massive tax cut and you need to cut your core services as a result, particularly when the main reason for the tax cut was to increase government revenue, then it's time to ditch the tax cut and try something different.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm wondering why the miracle revenue expansion didn't occur and whether or not any tricklers have any good excuse why supply-side failed yet again to enhance revenue.

It probably wasn't real supply-side economics. It's similar to communism in that every failure is due to something unrelated to the philosophy since the philosophy can't fail by definition.

 

[dismal]

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, what parade of horribles will surely follow?

Dogs and cats living together?

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?

- - - Updated - - -

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.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

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?

And you are not seeing one now. You are seeing government services whittled down. Do you not wish to see that or simply not to acknowledge it?