Kansas families know what happens when expenses grow faster than income. Something eventually has to give.
Yet state government has spent decades increasing its budget faster than a reasonable measure of taxpayers’ ability to support it. The result is less room for Kansans to keep their earnings, build businesses, save for retirement, and provide for their families.
In the first article of this five-part Kansas budget series, I explained where the money goes. Now comes the question: How much government can Kansans afford?
My 2027 Responsible Kansas Budget research found that state-funded spending increased from $7.2 billion in fiscal year 2005 to $22.3 billion in fiscal year 2026. Had spending grown only with population growth plus inflation, it would have reached approximately $12.6 billion instead.
That’s nearly $10 billion more in annual spending than under the RKB benchmark. Spread across roughly three million Kansans, the difference is more than $3,000 per person, or over $12,000 for a family of four.
Those figures aren’t individual tax bills or proof that every dollar was wasted. They show the scale of spending growth and the resources potentially available for different priorities, including tax relief.
Consider a Kansas family trying to buy a home, pay for groceries, or save for college. Government spending has consequences for that family’s financial future because taxes and government borrowing ultimately draw resources from the economy.
The same is true for a small-business owner deciding whether to hire another worker, purchase equipment, or expand.
Put Taxpayers First
The Responsible Kansas Budget provides a practical benchmark: State-funded spending should grow no faster than the prior three-year average of Kansas population growth plus inflation.
Population growth reflects changes in the number of people supporting government. Inflation generally moves with wages and incomes over time. Together, they represent taxpayers’ ability to finance government without continually increasing its burden.
Using today’s elevated spending baseline produces a fiscal year 2027 limit of $23.09 billion, compared with $22.33 billion in fiscal year 2026.
But there’s a problem.
A spending limit built on an inflated budget can preserve excessive spending.
Using fiscal year 2020 as the starting point instead produces a responsible fiscal year 2027 budget of approximately $17.2 billion.
KPI suggests ratcheting baseline spending down to the 2020 level then increasing spending since then by just population growth plus inflation. Using the historical averages of these economic measures, the Responsible Kansas Budget for 2027 was $17.2 billion, which was $10 billion less than budgeted. That doesn’t mean this reduction could happen overnight without consequences. It means lawmakers should examine programs, eliminate unnecessary spending, and work toward a lower baseline rather than automatically protecting past decisions.
Make Restraint Last
Annual budget targets can be ignored. Kansas needs enforceable rules.
A Kansas Taxpayer Bill of Rights could limit state-funded spending growth to the three-year average of population growth plus the U.S. Chained Consumer Price Index.
The limit should cover as much spending as possible–see the previous post on General Fund v. All Funds v. State Funds–preventing lawmakers from avoiding it by moving money between funds or creating new fees. Exceeding the limit should require a two-thirds legislative supermajority.
When tax revenue grows faster than permitted spending, excess collections should trigger permanent, broad-based income-tax rate reductions.
That’s where the budget becomes personal.
Lower income-tax rates mean workers can keep more of their next paycheck. Entrepreneurs can retain more earnings to reinvest. Families can build savings rather than sending an increasing share of their resources to government.
Kansas can learn from Colorado, where exemptions have weakened its Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. A limit with too many loopholes won’t protect taxpayers.
Let Kansans Prosper
Spending restraint isn’t about numbers on a spreadsheet. It’s about giving Kansans more control over their own resources and futures.
Kansas already has performance-based budgeting requirements. Using them seriously could identify programs delivering results and spending that can be reduced or eliminated.
That’s the focus of the next article: Are Kansans getting their money’s worth?
A responsible budget should protect essential government functions without consuming resources that families and businesses could use more productively.
Kansas doesn’t need government spending to grow faster. It needs more opportunities for Kansans to prosper.
