Payroll jumps in Shawnee Mission but not for teachers
- Education
- August 22, 2018
Within the last year, Kansas has set a record budget, financed it with record tax hikes, and vowed to increase spending to even higher levels. Some think such a policy encourages economic success. However, the latest economic snapshots reveal the opposite; that ballooning government is crowding out private sector growth. The adjacent table summarizes the Bureau
READ MOREHow much government is too much for Kansas? Three straight years of income tax increases are sending the state budget to another historical high. However, three signs suggest that bigger is not always better. Three signs; jobs, personal income, and purchases, that link government growth to a stagnant Kansas economy. The legislature approved, and the
READ MORETaxpayer-funded programs that combat poverty should operate in ways that create a pathway to economic independence. As such, welfare reforms, like the Hope Act and other efforts, truly benefitted low-income Kansans by encouraging work and lowering poverty rates. Increasing handouts, in contrast, trapped more Kansans into government dependency, stifling their potential success and self-reliance. Kansas
READ MORESome of Kansas’s low economic performance may be tied to the fact that property taxes are growing too fast. In fact, 65 KS counties saw triple-digit property tax growth despite their populations shrinking. The Lincoln Land Institute found that Iola, KS has the highest rural property tax rate in the nation. By contrast, there is
READ MOREGovernor Kelly vetoed the tax windfall bill, raising Kansans’ income taxes to the tune of $50 million. Near the same time, the latest state tax report shows Kansans decreasing shopping by $40 million. Is this just a coincidence, or are Kansans preparing to pay for higher taxes again? It’s possible Kansas’s fiscal troubles and sluggish growth
READ MOREAt the start of the year, Americans always seem resolved to make changes to their lives and routines. For many Kansans, those resolutions apparently mean migration to fast-growing states with governments that spend less, and tax less. This policy proposal is part of the Sandlian Center for Entrepreneurial Government’s 2019 Legislator’s Budget Guide. Find more
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