Brownback's Experiment In Supply-Side Economics Fails Miserably
"Brownback called ALEC's Supply-Side Symphony "a real live experiment" in economics; the law completely eliminated taxes for 191,000 business owners in the state, and cut income taxes by a stunning 29 percent. Actually, that was just for the top income earners in the state, who now get to keep almost a third more of their millions than they did in 2009.
All of this was projected to cost the state $934 million in lost income over the next six years. In every way conceivable, this tax cut was a Conservative Libertarian dream come true, guaranteed to turn Kansas into a utopia of economic growth. Grover Norquist called Senate Bill HB 2117 "model legislation" for the nation, guaranteed to stimulate massive growth in the state. It was passed overwhelmingly by a chorus of GOP legislators, and signed into law by Brownback.
Ah-MEN, Reeeaaaagaaannn…
But, a funny thing happened on the way to Heaven.
Reality.
As anyone but a Republican could have predicted, Brownback's Law did almost nothing for the state in terms of business and employment growth. But it did a lot for the wealthiest business owners, shifting almost the entire state's remaining tax burden shifted squarely onto low- and middle-class workers. It also left Kansas with a $292 million budget shortfall as of June 2014, $314 million by the end of the year, and a predicted $2.5 billion by 2018."
