Thread by @DHStokyo

Considering the current GOP #TaxScam echoes many of the same elements as Kansas’ 2012 tax cut experiment, we should talk about the disaster that unfolded there. Thread/

In 2012, Governor Brownback (R) had a legislature full of Tea Party Republicans and passed a big tax cut bill.

He reduced the tax rates for most individuals and eliminated taxes on pass-through businesses. Pass-throughs are the small businesses like sole proprietorships, partnerships and S corporations.

(Did I mention Trump’s organization is organized as a series of pass-throughs?)

Brownback said the tax cuts would pay for themselves through the growth it would stimulate in the economy. (Sound familiar?)

Brownback also promised the tax cuts would lead to an extra 22,000 jobs over the next 5 years.

This, however, is what actually happened:

Revenues shrank immediately, and Kansas’ economy grew more slowly than in neighboring states and the country as a whole. Their bond rating plummeted.

Overall growth and job creation in Kansas underperformed both the national economy and neighboring states.

The budget deficit was so large, the legislature had to make major cuts in spending. They slashed K-12 education, university budgets, housing, police and fire protection, and infrastructure projects.

State lawmakers tried to balance the budget by tapping into reserves and the highway fund. Then they reduced pension contributions and cut Medicaid.

One of the reasons revenue dropped so much was that some business owners restructured their companies to take advantage of the pass-through loophole.

The calls to raise taxes again grew louder but instead Brownback instead had the legislature pass a temporary sales tax and then added taxes on cigarettes and alcohol.

But after four years of bad growth, growing deficits, and painful spending reductions, the GOP-dominated Kansas legislature repealed Brownback’s tax cuts, putting an end to the experiment.

Today, Trump/Congress are pushing lower taxes for the top earners, cutting taxes for large businesses, and lowering the tax rate for pass-throughs.

Just like Brownback did, Trump's team is promising that explosive growth will make up for the cost of their cuts.

“Not only will this tax plan pay for itself, but it will pay down debt,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said last month.

Speaker Paul Ryan:

Oh look, Ryan is also promising jobs will be a direct result of tax cuts:

Arthur Laffer, a supply-side economist who advised President Reagan among others, helped create the Kansas tax plan. He is a fan of Trump’s plan:

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The Kansas-based Koch Bros have continued to attack KS legislators for raising taxes again and have been lobbying Congress aggressively for these tax cuts.

Perhaps, though, we should heed the warnings from Kansas legislators who are in the middle of having to clean up this mess:

Re: the “pays for itself” promise: “That won’t work, so you better learn our lesson,” warned Kansas state Senator Barbara Bollier (R).

“It was supposed to increase the GDP, and it didn’t. The feds will have that same problem,” said state Senator Jim Denning, a conservative who originally supported the tax cuts.

“This is designed to shrink government. It is not designed to grow business,” state Representative Stephanie Clayton said.

End/ Let’s not repeat Kansas’ mistake with our entire nation & economy. Call your Senators and keep up the pressure! #KillTheBill

PS/ Wondering what penalty Brownback has to pay for his mistake? Oh, he’s accepted a position in Trump’s administration, leaving the Kansas legislators to fix his mess.

Source (one of many): forbes.com/sites/beltway/…