By Elisabeth Parker Economics, Politics, The Tea PartyNovember 17, 2014

GOP’s ‘Kansas Miracle’ Leaves State $279 Million In The Hole

Mourning the GOP’s midterm victories? Think again. THIS is what happens when we leave Republicans in charge. Sorry, Kansas.

In 2010, Kansas’s GOP Governor Sam Brownback cut taxes for the rich by $800 million, and slashed sales taxes from 6.45 percent to 4.9 percent. Brownback wants to eliminate the state income tax entirely, but has had to settle for slashing individual taxes by “only” 25 percent.

Four years later, Brownback’s GOP ‘Kansas Miracle’ has left his state’s coffers a desolate, smoking ruin. Kansas.Com reports that if the GOP-run legislature doesn’t come up with $279 million — that’s right $279 MILLION — the state’s checks will start bouncing like rubber balls on a trampoline.

Or, as Kansas.Com explains:

Kansas must cut $279 million from its budget before July just to be dead broke with a balance of zero in its checking account.

Since Republicans refuse to even consider raising taxes, and voters are unlikely to stand for the kind of belt-tightening that’ll soon be required of them, that puts them between a rock and a hard place:

“Republicans hold supermajorities in both the House and Senate, so it’ll be up to the GOP leaders to find a solution and get their members to pass it.”

Of course Brownback has some options via what the GOP would call “executive overreach” if Obama tried them. But none of these options are pleasant.

Watch Brownback try to explain himself out of this one, via KSN.Com!

h/t Daily Kos. Featured photo: “Wizard of Oz” via IMDB.

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Elisabeth Parker

Elisabeth Parker is a writer, Web designer, mom, political junkie, and dilettante. For more IYON articles by Elisabeth, click here. And feel free to visit her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Google Plus.

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John_St_John

Utterly mind numbing just how badly the G.O.t.P. wants to drive the United States into uncontrollable debt that will most likely never be reversed in my lifetime.
Ronald Woolever

And yet the fine people of Kansas decided to reelect Brownbeck and his cronies. I have no pity for stupid people any longer. Suffer Kansas, you begged for this now accept your fate.
- Ellen H.
  
  Brownback got 50% of the vote. Paul Davis got 46% and the libertarian received 4%. Consequently, we’re not all stupid. Thanks for the hasty generalization.
  - https://www.facebook.com/jason.agne normalice
    
    some of that 46% should move to Iowa. Help us turn around our republican rule.. I would offer us moving to Kansas, instead, but Iowa is a swing state and Kansas is not…
    - Ellen H.
      
      Well, you guys do get a lot of snow, and I love snow.
- DFW
  
  As a Texan, I have to say that is a rather simplistic way of looking at the results. We have a horrible governor coming in to replace the horrible one we have now, instead of the competent and qualified Wendy Davis. But she DID get the votes of plenty of thinking Texans. Many Republican voters just vote for their party, and would vote for a team of Charles Manson and Jeffrey Dahmer if that is who their party puts on the ticket. This is what they get for their intellectual laziness. The problem is that they only watch Fox Noise, who will convince them that anything going wrong in a state completely controlled by Republicans is nevertheless the fault of Democrats. They are not interested in a rational explanation, they only are interested in hearing why it’s not their fault. Brownback will now have to choose between voodoo accounting, cutting education, cutting infrastructure, or cutting law enforcement. Since there are still some communities in Kansas with live brown-skinned people, it’s probably a safe bet he will not cut law enforcement. But cutting schools is probably on the table. After all, Republicans know that if they don’t hear it on Fox, it probably never happened in the first place.
- Eva Grace
  
  my co-worker’s step-aunt makes $79 hourly on the computer . She has been out of work for 5 months but last month her pay check was $13400 just working on the computer for a few hours>>>>✩.ws/earner
http://www.indymedia.org BillyBoy80

GOP or DNC. Does it even matter anymore?
- JimLoomis
  
  Of course it does! “They’re all the same” is a lazy cop-out.
  - http://www.indymedia.org BillyBoy80
    
    They are the same. Especially since the Demokrats moved to the right in the 1990s. Look at other countries which actually have social democratic parties. The Democrats are a joke.
- regressive teaparty trash
  
  one HUUUUUGE difference- the regressive VOODOO GOP wants JEEEEESUS ( see: 21st century Caucasian anti gay jesus) legislated into all of our laws
  - http://www.indymedia.org BillyBoy80
    
    They’re both capitalist parties so it doesn’t matter. About as legitimate as elections in the old USSR.
    - cole
      
      The difference is the Democrats will raise your taxes to pay for your services and collect that money from you and corporations, the Republicans wants the same thing except he wants the corporation to get a tax break and they you and I double our taxes to cover for the corporations lost contributions and the price of services, big difference.
      - regressive teaparty trash
        
        reasonably correct
      - http://www.indymedia.org BillyBoy80
        
        They both cut taxes for giant corporations. There’s no difference. “Raising Taxes” is not something any political party in the US wants to do right now because the voters are so dumb they won’t support it. The way it is in the US right now is “Lower taxes and MOAR services”. It just doesn’t work. Taxes are going to have to be raised eventually. The attempt to lower corporate taxes to lure business doesn’t work either. The Republicans are horrible but that doesn’t mean the Democrats are good. You’re being forced to choose between two parties which ideologically are very similar.
        
        Neo-lib, Neo-Con. Same coin, different sides.
    - regressive teaparty trash
      
      you are a classic crybaby imbecile,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,with no knowledge of the machinings of either party
Kenneth Henderson

The people in Kansas who didn’t vote for Brownback (what anal sounding name btw.) may I suggest moving to greener pastures. (If you can) Those who did vote for Brown “Im going to screw you all anally until you scream” back, you got what you voted for. Enjoy your new “utopia”.
- Ellen H.
  
  I would love to move, but that’s not an option for at least another eight years. However, I also have a stay and fight attitude, so believe me, I will harass every tea partipublican I can.
  - Kenneth Henderson
    
    Stay strong, I understand not being able to relocate, if and when you can, the west coast is pretty nice. (And no not all of the west coast is expensive, northern Ca through Ore up to Washington have lots of places to live where its progressive, caring, and budget friendly.) Good luck.
Jim

If you would listen carefully to the Republicans you would see that this is their plan for the nation. Cut taxes so low that we can no longer afford things like SS, Medicare, Medicaid, the school system and so on. Once the taxes are cut then they will say, Oh, we can’t afford this or that program anymore, so it will be cut. The sad part about is is that so many Americans will believe we really can’t afford these program anymore. Just like they believe the Republicans this last election about how the country was going in the wrong direction so they voted the same people in that drove us in the ditch in the first place.
JimLoomis

And, of course, the voters of Kansas just re-elected Brownback.
- regressive teaparty trash
  
  must be that ” mandate” the regressive s are screaming about ( see: lowest voter turnout in 72 yrs)
Bren Frowick

Heckuva job, Brownie…
regressive teaparty trash

read ” AMERICAS CONSERVATIVE ROAD TO DESTRUCTION,,,,A BRIEF HISTORY” posted aug 10 2014 bt Bruce Bacon on THE BLUE ROUTE————- both liberals and ‘ conservatives” should read this- then discuss what now must be done
Joel Ian

Brownback, the idiot tax slasher, is too stupid to understand that taxes are what you pay for civilization. But his RICH constituents are thrilled.
cole

It happen here in Michigan to, we are facing a billion dollar shortfall to our of state companies because of Republicans and know they just double our gas tax and talking about raising the sales tax to pay for fixing the roads after they gave the in state corporations a billion dollar tax break and these Republicans voted them back in office, they raised taxes here Kansas you can expect the same there.