• 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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  • 2023 Green Book: Kansas stagnates while others grow

    2023 Green Book: Kansas stagnates while others grow0

    At the end of 2022, 30 states across the country had fully recovered to their level of private-sector jobs prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kansas was in the minority that failed to do so. While the state continues to doll our hundreds of millions of dollars in megasubsidies to huge corporations, the Sunflower State continues

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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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  • Kansas can’t keep pace with over half of country on pandemic job recovery

    Kansas can’t keep pace with over half of country on pandemic job recovery0

    In October 2022, Kansas was on track to recover to January 2020 job levels by the end of this year. However, November’s job report fell flat on these expectations. The state lost 1,000 private-sector jobs, with a job growth rate worse than 41 other states. This month, Massachusetts and Oklahoma joined 27 other states that

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  • Declining economic indicators show need for tax relief in Kansas

    Declining economic indicators show need for tax relief in Kansas0

    This year’s underperformance in job growth and overall economic activity is now significantly impacting state revenue, according to the November tax collection report. It’s another sign that Kansas needs tax relief to end its five decades of stagnation. Compared to November 2021, the income tax collected last month was only 0.9% higher. With 12-month inflation

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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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