Kansas has a nearly $27 billion state budget. But the most important question isn’t just how much government spends. It’s whether Kansans are getting better results while keeping more of what they earn. That’s the question I’ll examine in this five-part Kansas Policy Institute series on the state budget, economy, and policies that can help more Kansans prosper.
The starting point is understanding where the money goes.
Kansas’ fiscal year 2027 budget authorizes $26.8 billion in total spending, including $10.9 billion from the State General Fund and $22.3 billion in state funds.
- Total spending includes taxpayer funds from sales taxes, income taxes, and other state taxes and fees, along with funds sent to the state by the federal government.
- State funds include expenditures from general-purpose taxes, constitutionally dedicated funds, and other sources.
- State General Fund spending comes from taxes collected at the state level for general purposes, rather than constitutionally dedicated funds, such as the gas tax for transportation spending.
The General Fund receives major tax revenues, including individual income and sales taxes. But it isn’t the entire budget. Kansas also spends money from other state funds and federal funds. That distinction matters because focusing only on the General Fund misses much of government’s spending. The budget finances public education, Medicaid, transportation, public safety, and other agencies and economic development programs. Some provide important services. Others deserve closer scrutiny. All should be judged by their results and costs to taxpayers.
The challenge is that Kansas government has grown much faster than the resources available to the average taxpayer.
The 2027 Responsible Kansas Budget research found that state fund spending rose from $7.2 billion in fiscal year 2005 to $22.3 billion in fiscal year 2026. If state fund spending had grown only with population growth plus inflation, it would have reached about $12.6 billion. That nearly $10 billion annual difference isn’t necessarily a proposal for an immediate cut, though closing that gap quickly is ideal. It shows how decades of faster spending compound and why even modest annual increases can keep government unnecessarily expensive.
Meanwhile, Kansas has economic strengths but faces serious long-term challenges. As I’ve explained in Kansas Needs Growth, Not Managed Decline, the state has lagged many others in private-sector job growth and attracting people from other states. A strong quarter of economic growth is welcome, but sustainable prosperity requires more private investment, better-paying jobs, and opportunities for families to build their futures.
That brings us back to the budget. Government spending isn’t free. Every dollar ultimately comes from taxpayers today or tomorrow, including federal funds financed through taxes and borrowing. When government consumes more resources, families and businesses have less to save, invest, hire, and pursue new ideas.
Over the next four articles, I’ll examine four questions.
- First, how much government can Kansans afford? We’ll examine the Responsible Kansas Budget and how a strong spending limit could restrain government growth.
- Second, what are taxpayers getting for their money? Kansas already has performance-based budgeting requirements. We’ll examine how program reviews, measurable outcomes, and private alternatives could improve accountability.
- Third, how can the budget support stronger economic growth? We’ll connect taxes, employment, wages, and investment while examining how spending restraint can create room for lower income-tax rates.
- Fourth, how can Kansas prepare for Washington’s fiscal problems? Federal deficits and debt create uncertainty for states that depend on federal funding. We’ll examine how Kansas can reduce that exposure and strengthen its finances.
These questions fit together. Spending restraint creates room for tax relief. Better program reviews identify what government should stop doing. Lower taxes and fewer barriers to opportunity encourage private-sector growth. Less dependence on Washington strengthens accountability. These steps help avoid the boom-and-bust cycle in budgeting whereby papering over excess spending through gimmicks or reserve funds just kicks the can down the road.
The goal isn’t simply a smaller budget on paper. It’s a government limited to its proper functions, giving families, businesses, communities, and voluntary institutions more freedom to solve problems. Kansas has an opportunity to build a budget around that principle. Success should be measured by how well Kansans prosper, not by how much government spends.
