- Apr 3, 2003
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... Sam Brownback did for Kansas.
At this point, there’s no excuse for anybody to be surprised by the aftermath of Brownback’s sweeping tax cuts. Media reports far and wide have chronicled the steps the state has taken in recent years to fill in the resulting revenue gaps.
On the day in 2012 when Brownback signed the tax-cut bill, critics were already forecasting fiscal doomsday. The measure slashed state income taxes by roughly $3.7 billion over five years. State financial analysts were predicting budget deficits totaling $2.5 billion in 2018.
Undaunted, Brownback insisted that the improved business climate would benefit all.
“We’re going to move this forward and make it work and take care of our fundamental services,” Brownback said that day.
But new figures from the Legislative Services Department in Topeka suggest a vastly different story. They show that since Brownback’s first year in office, the state has raided various funds or delayed payments to the tune of $3.1 billion.
That includes about $2.5 billion in payments to the state highway fund that were diverted elsewhere. In other words, instead of depositing funds into the highway account to maintain roads, the money was diverted to the general fund and other accounts.
Essentially, Brownback and lawmakers figured that the only way to finance basic services following those massive tax cuts was to dip into piggy banks.
Critics suggest that as highways deteriorate, the state will be hard-pressed to maintain them given all the ongoing highway-fund raids.
Brownback and lawmakers also delayed payments totaling more than $407 million from the employee retirement system, or KPERS. Economic development programs were raided to the tune of $125 million. About $47 million intended for children’s programs was diverted.
That’s only part of it. The state borrowed $1 billion and deposited it into the retirement account for needed stability. That money will have to be repaid, and so will the $407 million to make pension payments.
Editorial: How much did Sam Brownback’s policies cost Kansas?
It was sort of a governmental Ponzi scheme. One-hundred percent supply side economics. And Kansas became such a train wreck that the republican-led legislature did an intervention and took it away from Brownback, restoring some fiscal sanity. But his lavish giveaways to businesses will take years to pay for.
At this point, there’s no excuse for anybody to be surprised by the aftermath of Brownback’s sweeping tax cuts. Media reports far and wide have chronicled the steps the state has taken in recent years to fill in the resulting revenue gaps.
On the day in 2012 when Brownback signed the tax-cut bill, critics were already forecasting fiscal doomsday. The measure slashed state income taxes by roughly $3.7 billion over five years. State financial analysts were predicting budget deficits totaling $2.5 billion in 2018.
Undaunted, Brownback insisted that the improved business climate would benefit all.
“We’re going to move this forward and make it work and take care of our fundamental services,” Brownback said that day.
But new figures from the Legislative Services Department in Topeka suggest a vastly different story. They show that since Brownback’s first year in office, the state has raided various funds or delayed payments to the tune of $3.1 billion.
That includes about $2.5 billion in payments to the state highway fund that were diverted elsewhere. In other words, instead of depositing funds into the highway account to maintain roads, the money was diverted to the general fund and other accounts.
Essentially, Brownback and lawmakers figured that the only way to finance basic services following those massive tax cuts was to dip into piggy banks.
Critics suggest that as highways deteriorate, the state will be hard-pressed to maintain them given all the ongoing highway-fund raids.
Brownback and lawmakers also delayed payments totaling more than $407 million from the employee retirement system, or KPERS. Economic development programs were raided to the tune of $125 million. About $47 million intended for children’s programs was diverted.
That’s only part of it. The state borrowed $1 billion and deposited it into the retirement account for needed stability. That money will have to be repaid, and so will the $407 million to make pension payments.
Editorial: How much did Sam Brownback’s policies cost Kansas?
It was sort of a governmental Ponzi scheme. One-hundred percent supply side economics. And Kansas became such a train wreck that the republican-led legislature did an intervention and took it away from Brownback, restoring some fiscal sanity. But his lavish giveaways to businesses will take years to pay for.
