Sam Brownback began the night by noting that Kansas was on stable footing - and that a rush of new economic boom was just around the corner for Kansas. Mirroring the discussion held by
Art Laffer this week on St. Louis Radio, Brownback offered a new way to look at our state economic situation as well as the future of Kansas.
Brownback highlighted several ways to help move the state forward, and we'll discuss those below.
Brownback, noting concerns of Medical cost, K-12 spending and KPERs argued that we would have to take a 'realistic' look at these, offering a few proposals.
Governor Brownback's first proposal is a constitutional amendment saying the state will pay off all debt as a first expense, before paying any other need of the state. This in effect puts a first in-last out situation for other debts incurred by the state, notably education.
Brownback contends that by prioritizing debt, we get a much more realistic view of the state economic situation, providing the state with a 'true budget'.
In order to back this up, Brownback made several other significant proposals:
(1) A change of the education formula within Kansas in order to alter the current amount of funds going to school which "grow continuously" without apparent need, in his view; this would allow for changes in the funding of schools, on top of putting funding farther down the list after debt servicing is paid.
(2) KPERS - the Kansas Pension - will be adjusted. No specific proposals were offered.
(3) A change in policy toward the appointment of Supreme Court judges, allowing Brownback to appoint without Merit Based standards, going back to the pre-Brown V Board of Education appointment by fiat.
(4) A promise to continue reducing income tax rates in Kansas to Zero.
Brownback concluded by noting that Kansas is the "Most Pro-Life State in America" and will become more so, focusing more on the family, good morals, and a home for the future of America.
This, Kansas, is what you voted for, and now we get to see through legislation in 2015 exactly what we have wrought.
Please Note I've been told "This should be State of the State". Since Brownback spent time talking about the military and national implications, this was clearly his pitch on the issues facing the country - just how he would face them in Kansas.