Kansas Governor Proposes Using Pension Money to Cover Budget Gaps Created By His Tax Cuts

[NACBA]

http://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/v2_article_large/public/2014/12/13/brownback.jpg?itok=7oHAIETc
In 2012, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback signed a landmark bill that delivered big tax cuts to high income earners and businesses. Less than two years after that tax cut, the state's income tax revenues plummeted by a quarter-billion dollars -- and now Brownback is pushing to use money for public employees’ pensions to instead cover the state's ensuing budget shortfalls.

http://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/v2_article_large/public/2014/12/13/brownback.jpg?itok=7oHAIETc

[CaptUSA]

Hard for a politician to look at a big pile of money without wanting to dive into it.

The pensions for these government employees is entirely out of hand, but they signed up knowing the payoff at the end. The best place to shrink the pensions is to create tiered contracts - not to raid the piggy bank.




ETA:


Oh, and tax cuts did not create this mess. That assumes that it was money the State was already entitled to. Spending, as always, is the issue.

[NACBA]

Hard for a politician to look at a big pile of money without wanting to dive into it.

The pensions for these government employees is entirely out of hand, but they signed up knowing the payoff at the end. The best place to shrink the pensions is to create tiered contracts - not to raid the piggy bank.




ETA:


Oh, and tax cuts did create this mess. That assumes that it was money the State was already entitled to. Spending, as always, is the issue.

Exactly

[Keith and stuff]

Here is a recent article where Grover Norquist hints at the problems Brownback helped create Norquist would have tried to do things differently. Brownback already increased sales taxes so that isn't a good option for him right now. Since he already pissed off a lot of the poor people, why not piss of the government workers? As long as businesses remain happy :toady: