Three months ago, Standard & Poor’s Rating Services announced that Kansas had about a 50-50 chance of having its credit rating downgraded again. Last week, the bad news arrived. The company has downgraded Kansas from a AA to a AA- rating.
Only Illinois, Kentucky and New Jersey now have worse credit ratings than Kansas.
An editorial in the Hays Daily Newsblamed the downgrade on Gov. Sam Brownback’s “reckless and unsustainable” tax cuts. “How long will the good people of Kansas allow this to continue?” the paper’s editor Patrick Lowry asked. Lowry suggested that tomorrow would be a good day to start reversing course. “While not all conservative Republicans have an opponent in the primary election, a lot do,” he wrote, adding: “We would be better served by having moderate Republicans take their place.” Lowry concluded by suggesting, “It’s time to vote out every lawmaker who’s had a hand in creating the current mess.”