Kansas views on State of the State address, budget
State of the State – This year’s State of the State address was Gov. Sam Brownback’s chance to offer a new vision. It was the chance to show Kansas voters that he understood the frustration they expressed in November and that he was open to different approaches that might help pull the state out of its growing fiscal hole. Instead, Brownback did what he has always done: He doubled down on the policies he has long championed but that have yet to work.
To nobody’s surprise and to many’s great disappointment, the governor offered no plan to alter the state’s glide path to bankruptcy. He lacks the mettle to admit his experiment has gone seriously awry. It will be up to the legislative branch to save our great state.
Brownback’s defense in his State of the State address of the tax policies that have defined his tenure is perhaps understandable, but Kansans ought to know by now that those policies haven’t succeeded.
The governor asserted, again, that his tax experiment was working. Not only the experts but also the voters disagree with this tired, baseless assertion.
The governor has chosen to make recommendations that few asked for and few support. In exchange, he has ignored the cacophony of calls for him to end the LLC loophole.
Consider the latest State of the State address more of the same disconnect with reality that’s been a hallmark of Brownback’s time in office.
This story was originally published January 16, 2017 at 5:05 AM with the headline "Kansas views on State of the State address, budget."