In Washington, Barack Obama is looking to expand government into every nook and cranny of American life, and is looking to raise taxes to pay for it. But just in case you’ve bought the idea that conservatism is dead, my friends, look to the states.
Remember, we had a red wave election in 2010, and Republicans now control the governorship and the state houses in 24 states. Democrats only have that much control in 13 states. And there is no state where Republicans are putting it to better use than Kansas.
Governor Sam Brownback, who was elected in that red wave of 2010, has cut and simplified the state’s income tax. He’s slashed the state payroll. He’s slashed the welfare rolls. And now he’s got something really big in mind – eliminating the state income tax altogether!
Of course, Democrats are howling. One of them says that people will be denied their pursuit of happiness without so much state government around. I guess they’re not going to have a Department of Happy in Kansas. And even one moderate Republican is complaining, saying this is extreme because no one else is doing it!
But it doesn’t appear that Governor Brownback or his legislative allies care. They only thing they care about is creating an atmosphere for economic prosperity and job creation, because that’s the best thing you can do to lift people out of difficult circumstances.
Republican governors are the real innovators in this nation right now. Bobby Jindal in Louisiana is looking to get rid of the income and business taxes. Scott Walker in Wisconsin, John Kasich in Ohio and Rick Snyder in Michigan took on labor unions and won, achieving major savings for taxpayers.
You won’t find much in the way of positive innovation in Washington, but if you look around the country, you’ll see that the policies of economic prosperity and job creation have not left America. Now we just need to figure out how to get them to our nation’s capital.
