• Kansas economy falling behind by staying in the same place

    Kansas economy falling behind by staying in the same place0

    The Red Queen Hypothesis is a theory in evolutionary biology that species must continuously evolve to compete in their environments and not go extinct. This philosophy can also be applied to the economies of states and countries: those that do not reform to stay competitive will lose residents and opportunities to other states. Recently released

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  • Kansas ends 2022 without fully recovering to pre-pandemic jobs numbers

    Kansas ends 2022 without fully recovering to pre-pandemic jobs numbers0

    In December 2022, Kansas was still 2,700 private-sector jobs below its pre-pandemic numbers while 30 states have already fully recovered. Failing to achieve this benchmark while a majority of the country has is a sign that Kansas needs more than ineffective economic subsidies and lackluster tax policy to grow. The Bureau of Labor Statistics adjusts

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  • Fewer government workers gives Kansans room to grow

    Fewer government workers gives Kansans room to grow0

    September was another unexceptional month for Kansas’s jobs: the Sunflower State ranked in the bottom half nationwide for growth and is now in the minority of states that still haven’t fully recovered to pre-pandemic private-sector job numbers. Reducing the size of government and government workers is an opportunity to give Kansans more opportunity in the

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  • Unspoken reality gets bigger as Kansas jobs shrink

    Unspoken reality gets bigger as Kansas jobs shrink0

    The elephant in the room of Kansas politics got bigger last month: Kansas lost 2,100 private-sector jobs last month. The state was already still below its pre-pandemic job levels, but now, 21,000 jobs total jobs are needed before full recovery to pre-pandemic levels. At the same rate of growth that the state has seen since

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  • Kansas still 19,500 jobs below pre-pandemic levels

    Kansas still 19,500 jobs below pre-pandemic levels0

    Topeka’s NBC outlet and the Kansas City Star pointed out the inaccuracy in Governor Laura Kelly’s recent claim: “I know that during the pandemic, that every place lost jobs, but we have restored those jobs and more.” A new month of Bureau of Labor Statistics data further undermines her claim. According to July’s job numbers,

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  • Excess tax collections are not good for taxpayers

    Excess tax collections are not good for taxpayers0

    Governor Laura Kelly is heralding tax collections exceeding expectations as a sign of “forward momentum” in the state’s economy, but that is a government-focused viewpoint.  The economic data tells a different story for taxpayers. In July 2022, the state of Kansas took in a total tax revenue of $586.2 million, 27.8% greater than the estimates

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