Nebraska may want to look to the south for guidance, as two recent events in Kansas might provide some important budgetary lessons. Firstly, last week S&P dropped the Sunflower State’s credit rating for the second time in two years.
As the Omaha World-Herald reports,only three states have worse credit ratings. And second, last week in the Kansas primary, the Kansas Senate majority leader and 10 other state lawmakers were tossed out of office. The World Herald laid the blame for these setbacks at Kansas’s effort to completely overhaul its budget during Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration.
In an editorial,the Omaha paper said “states should never pursue major budget overhauls. . . . Such efforts should be carried out through careful planning and deliberation.” To be sure, Cornhusker lawmakers are taking note of their neighbor’s mistakes.