Last week wasa rough weekfor Kansas Governor Sam Brownback. First, the governor was forced to slash another $97 millionfrom the budget. Those cuts came on top of an additional $185 million diverted from highway funds. Brownback also had to delay a $100 million payment into Kanas public employees’ pension plans.
The Kansas City Star called these budget reductions “reckless.” The newspaper noted that Brownback’s 2012 income tax cuts never produced the promised jobs or revenues. After the reductions were announced, it came to light that Kansas lost a whopping 3,700 jobs in April. Kansas has a growth rate of 0 percent over the 12 months. That’s the seventh worst growth rate in the country.
The United States as a whole has added 2.7 million jobs over the past year. Over that same period, Kansas lost 600 jobs.