Kansas, the red state that elected blue Gov. Laura Kelly in 2018 and reelected her last year, had a pretty darn good 2023, economy-wise. On Wednesday, Kelly announced that Kansas had the best economic growth of any state in the nation, with a 9.7 percent expansion in the third quarter of the year. A victory lap press release from the state’s Department of Commerce also noted that the third quarter “improves on an already impressive record of economic growth; in the 2nd quarter of 2023, Kansas’ economy grew at the second-fastest rate in the nation at 7.4%”
Golly, that sounds like a hell of a reason to elect Democrats, doesn’t it? Betcha a nickel that Democratic Governors’ Association chair Tim Walz (D-Minnesota) will be adding those stats to election-year comms for the upcoming elections.
In the press release, Gov. Kelly said the growth data
“shows that our efforts to support businesses, create a stable economy, and grow our workforce are paying off. Now, Kansas is outstripping the entire nation in economic growth and attracting business investment. Last week, I announced Kansas surpassed $18 billion in business investment since I took office in 2019. It’s clear we have the momentum to continue this trajectory of economic success into 2024 and beyond.”
The news release pointed to the Kelly administration’s efforts to
support the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industries helped drive this economic growth. While those industries decreased nationally and in 33 other states, they were leading contributors to growth in Kansas.
On top of that, Kansas came in third when it came to growth in personal income, and that’s in an economy where personal income nationwide has been outpacing inflation, resulting in more buying power — and reduced income inequality.
What we are getting at here is that it might be a good time to start asking what’s right with Kansas, at least when it comes to economics.
Keep all this in your noggin for the next time some rightwing idjit starts saying that for economies to do well, government absolutely must slash taxes and spending, so the private sector can work its magic.
Sam Brownback, the rightwing Republican who preceded Kelly in office but was appointed ambassador for “international religious freedom” in 2017, left his not-quite two terms as one of the least popular governors in the nation, thanks to his brainless insistence that cutting taxes and state spending to the bone would bring prosperity to the state. Instead, the state was left on the edge of bankruptcy and Kansas’s supreme court declared the state’s underfunding of public schools a violation of the state constitution.
The state’s bond rating was cut, twice, and not terribly long before Trump handed Brownback that golden Jesus-parachute, just enough Republicans in the GOP-dominated state Lege voted with Democrats to repeal Brownback’s precious 2012 tax cuts, overriding Brownback’s veto.
Then in 2018, Kansans said HELL NO to the Trump-endorsed candidate, rightwing racist immigrant-hatin’ Kris Kobach, electing Kelly by a five-point margin over the Republican (there was also a dipshit independent nobody cares about). Neener, and we repeat, neener.
In conclusion, hell yes, elect Democrats, and this ought to be good news for Joe Biden too.
PREVIOUSLY ON THIS TOPIC!
[Kansas Department of Commerce / WIBW / NPR / Vintage postcard via Steve Shook, Creative Commons License 2.0]
Yr Wonkette is funded entirely by reader donations. If you can, please subscribe and help us reach 5,000 paid subscribers before the New Year! Or if a one-time donation is more fiscally prudent for you, then we have this here button for you too:
If you’re shopping at Amazon anyway — for albums by Kansas, “Fuck Yeah, Toto, We’re in KANSAS!” T-shirts, or to help Dok Zoom get stupid manga on his stupid Kindle (just Nine FIVE to go!) — this portal gives Yr Wonkette a commission!
This article also available as a brief monograph entitled, "You want prosperity? Elect Democrats! A Case Study, Fuckers"
I just love responsible, functional, from-the-bottom-up-Keynesian economics that Democratic administrations tend to utilize.
Everyone benefits. It fucking works.