Tag: Kansas state government

  • Are you a second class Kansan?

    The Kansas legislature is in the process of deciding how wide the separation will be between various classes of Kansans. State Senator Peggy Palmer, R-Augusta, and State Representative Judy Morrison, R-Shawnee, introduced bills in their separate legislative houses that would have exempted social security payments from the Kansas personal income tax this year.

  • Higher Education Wants A Spending Spree

    Soaring spending has not been spent evenly. The six Regents universities in Kansas initially asked for $727 million to fix deeply neglected buildings at these campuses. Governor Sebelius has performed a valuable service by responding that the Kansas Turnpike have higher tolls to fund this spending.

  • Kansas lags fiscally again

    Kansas is once again falling behind. The growth in state tax receipts has allowed the legislature to increase state spending. This revenue growth could also provide some much needed tax relief to try and make this state’s fiscal climate more competitive.

  • Spending and the true cost of government

    (WICHITA) – While lawmakers face a challenge to increase spending from many directions, they need to resist some of these pressures in order to control excessive government spending. In a policy brief released by the Flint Hills Center, “The Virtue of a Self-Imposed Spending Cap for the Kansas Legislature,” Jonathan Williams documents the growth of…

  • Record setting spending in Topeka

    Now that the inconvenience of the 2006 election is behind us, the statehouse is getting back to what it does best: spending your tax dollars. Governor Sebelius’ latest state budget will set two new records for increased spending.

  • Tax Growth Exceeds Income Growth

    Several recent national fiscal surveys have pointed out that Kansas’ fiscal climate is not conducive to economic growth and we rank poorly with most of our neighboring states. There is tremendous tax uncertainty that is reflected in both the high level of property taxes in Kansas but the sizable property tax increases that occur through…

  • Maximum taxes means minimum growth

    Kansas has high taxes. Even worse, the high taxes are high property taxes that stifle capital formation and hold down wages. Two new studies rank Kansas at the bottom of this region when it comes to soaring property taxes. That should not be too surprising since Kansas and Nebraska are the two states that provide…

  • Minimum wage price controls hurt Kansas

    This article presents compelling evidence that raising the minimum wage is not in the best interests of low-wage workers.

  • The next four years

    The gubernatorial race in Kansas is generating fewer negative ads statewide than a single Wichita area race for the Kansas House of Representatives. If this crude barometer of political sentiment is correct, Kathleen Sebelius will easily be reelected governor November 7.