Legislators’ laughable new talking point
Some GOP legislators have a laughable new talking point: The state is doing fine because it’s collecting more tax revenue than the previous year.
Of course revenue is up; the Legislature passed the largest tax increase in state history last year (a fact they fail to mention).
The problem is that revenue isn’t up nearly as much as expected – or enough to cover the state’s budget obligations. That grim fiscal reality will be reflected Wednesday in new revenue estimates, which likely will result in more budget cuts and another raid on the state transportation fund.
But lawmakers don’t want to talk about that.
House Speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, recently bragged about how the state’s revenue collections were $53 million more at the end of March than at the same point in the previous year.
“Now, to me, that’s progress,” he told the Topeka Capital-Journal (without acknowledging the tax increase).
Local legislators have made similar pitches, with several touting the revenue gain at a legislative forum Saturday at Wichita State University. Rep. Pete DeGraaf, R-Mulvane, wrote in a constituent newsletter about how “revenue is up” and “the state of Kansas is doing better than a year ago and even better than two years ago.”
Other lawmakers have tried dismissing bad economic news.
At a constituent luncheon last week in Augusta, Sen. Ty Masterson, R-Andover, brushed off a question about how State Policy Reports, a Washington, D.C.-based publication that tracks state policies, recently ranked Kansas as having the 46th best economy in the nation.
“If you are referring to The Eagle’s report, it’s easy to shape data,” Masterson said.
How about the Kansas Department of Labor report released last week showing the state had zero non-farm job growth during the past 12 months? The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked Kansas as having the seventh worst job growth rate in the nation. Is that more data shaping?
Still, it’s no wonder some legislators are grasping at fiscal straws. They are up for re-election this year, and the tax policies that they and Gov. Sam Brownback championed have failed to ignite the state’s economy. As a result, the state has drained its cash reserves, seized more than $1 billion from the transportation fund, and delayed this quarter’s payment to the state pension plan.
About all legislators have to brag about is revenue from a tax increase.
This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Legislators’ laughable new talking point."