Friday, June 21, 2013

A Kansans S.O.S

Well, it has been a while. Glad you are all still reading.

This is in regards to local (Kansas) news. Ladies and gentlemen, the state of Kansas is under duress.

Governor Brownback has decreased income taxes in the state, which could be potentially regarded a "generalized positive". However, the governor did this absent any real plan to make the state fiscally solvent. For 2013, personal income tax rates drop from 3 brackets at 3.5, 6.25, and 6.45 percent to two universal tax rates at 3 and 4.9%. While in a general sense, I am an avid supporter of flat income tax, this legislation is entirely devoid of reality;

   1; The governor cut income taxes, knowing that the state sales tax rate was to regress from 6.3 percent to 5.7% roughly a year after the bill "passed" (quotation used for purpose). Unless the governor planned on cutting roughly 10% of the state budget, he would have to find a way to finance state functions. Funding is especially important to the state judiciary (which has rebuked Governor Brownback in regards to education cuts). The Governor has subsequently put his "supporters" on the issue of judicial appointment (current system; non-partisan selection committee, Brownback; he has all the say.)

   2; Roughly one year after the governor "passed" his tax cuts, he found the way to make up the difference in the state budget. The state sales tax had been set at 6.3% in 2010 by appointed Governor Mark Parkinson to offset a budget shortfall. The rate was set to fall to 5.7% on July 1, of this year (2013). Herein lies the Governor's ultimate "bargain".

The Governor cut taxes on everybody in the state; in theory, great. But, the Governor raised (and he did raise) the sales tax back to 6.15%.
However, the problem lies in the fundamentals. How a poverty-ridden family, with two kids, and minimum wage job is expected to pay at the same rate as someone who buys a boat is absolutely unacceptable (since a surtax was rejected last fall...).

Whether Kansas is willing to accept it or not, Governor Brownback is not here for Kansas. He showed that when capable; he used his influence to "direct" (quotation used for purpose) his supporters to challenge moderate Republicans in Kansas. The same group that produced Bob Dole, and Nacy Kassebaum; was effectively exterminated by those who saw Sam Brownback as the "savior" of the state Republican party....Governor Brownback does not represent what was "Kansas".

1 comment:

  1. It's the same across the country. Moderate is a bad word in the "New" republican party. It has become a party of extremism. What is we have now is terrorists in office because that's what all extremism leads to. It's a shame.

    ReplyDelete