Kansas legislators will soon be on spring break, and as they head back to their districts to tout the work they’ve already completed this session. At public forums and town halls across the state, lawmakers are also likely to talk about an unexpected problem: too much money.
Certainly, this is much better than crafting a budget with a shortfall where none of the options are appealing. However, dealing with a surplus is kind of like a child in a candy store. While there’s not enough money to buy everything, there’s still enough to fill up on empty calories.
Right now, legislators are in that candy store with their eyes darting around a menu of paying off debt, cutting taxes, issuing rebates, shoring up rainy day funds or spending the excess on services. Individually, each one of these has merit.
