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In a recent Wichita Eagle op-ed the Kansas Governor defended his harsh, regressive, and costly tax bill saying “our new pro-growth tax policy will be like a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas economy.” He is proud that he signed the largest tax cut in state history and claims that the state will still be able to provide for its neediest residents and provide “high-quality” education despite the fact that the tax bill he signed will take more than $760 million a year from state coffers.
The Governor’s op-ed may have been written in response to the heat he’s been getting since calling the bill “a real live experiment.” The conservative group Traditional Republicans for Commonsense writes (PDF) that the “’experiment’ will bankrupt our state and create a $2.7 billion deficit within five years.” In this op-ed, Bernie Koch from the Kansas Economic Progress Council writes that the legislation could actually discourage new businesses from locating to the state because the bill was so hastily written its implications for business are unclear. He further notes that the bond credit rating organization Moody’s recently predicted “[n]o improvement in economic growth as a result of the tax cuts” in Kansas.
Brownback’s next public relations effort is a forum he’s hosting at a community college in Overland Park. He’s invited the self-proclaimed father of supply side economics and – his own tax policy advisor – Arthur Laffer, to join him, which is further evidence the governor is making no apologies about signing a law that many of his constituents deem irresponsible, at best.