Brownback To The Future

Well, if you thought that Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback was going to change course after driving the state into a $700 million hole from his massive tax cut scheme, well, you'd be completely wrong. Not only is he going to continue cutting taxes and assuming growth will somehow magically appear, he's going to raise regressive taxes on the little people.

Kansas would dramatically raise its tobacco and liquor taxes and slow the implementation of promised income tax cuts to help close a projected deficit under Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget proposals for the next two fiscal years, which were unveiled Friday. 

The state’s cigarette tax would be nearly tripled, from 79 cents to $2.29 a pack, and the tax on packaged alcoholic beverages would go from 8 percent to 12 percent under the Republican governor’s budget plans.

Oh, but that'll only make up about half of the hole.  The rest?  Going after Medicaid, of course.

The governor said he wants to move the state from income taxes to consumption taxes to “reward productivity.”

“Transitioning to consumption taxes allows Kansans more freedom to determine their spending and reinforce the principle that the family budget is more important than the government budget,” he said in a statement. 

Brownback also proposed levying $162 million in fees over two years on the three private health insurance companies managing the state’s Medicaid program since 2013. 

Other measures would further eliminate the shortfalls, including spending cuts and changes to the Medicaid program, which provides health coverage to the poor and disabled.

In Sam Brownback's state, if you're sick or poor, you're not rewarded for your productivity, you're punished for lack of it.

I want to know how many people who happen to be smokers voted for Brownback in November specifically because of his tax cut plan.

And when the tax cuts don't grow revenues, and the budget shortfall gets even worse, I wonder which "consumers" that Gov. Brownback will target next?  My guess is all of them, through a ridiculously high state sales tax.  That's the next step.

Oh?  You didn't vote for tax increases on cigarettes and booze?  Oh, but my dear droogies, you did. You most certainly did.  You elected a Republican.

New tag: Sam Brownback.