Kansas competes with other states, other regions and even other countries to attract and retain businesses, and that’s why the Kansas business climate must be as good as or better than the states, regions and countries with which we compete.  A nationally respected economist recently stated, however, that, "Kansas is a shrinking part of America, with too much government, too many taxes, too little productivity, too low wages, too many regulations, too little growth and too much outmigration."  Since the year 2000, Kansas has been losing 10,000 people a year to other states. 

Kansas has other problems that should be addressed:  (1) Not only do Kansans bear a higher tax burden than the national average, but taxes are also higher than neighboring states; (2) There is evidence that Kansas has become a big government state -- we rank 6th in the country in number of state employees per capita; and (3) If the state’s economic growth is low, Kansans’ children and grandchildren will earn less. 

If we want to continue to fund our schools and public safety, we need to take better care of the business climate.  Raising taxes to achieve short-term spending goals -- even for the most laudable of purposes -- is folly.