Reality, Bitches, Kansas Edition

We all know that Sam Brownback promised that his radical program of slashing taxes would unleash an economic powerhouse.

Rather unsurprisingly, it turned into a complete sh%$ show, with Kansas' budget, economy, and infrastructure turning into a complete sh%$ show.

Well, now that he has been replaced by someone who is ……… well ……… sane, Kansas' economy and budget have made an impressive turn-around:

Residents of one midwestern state can be forgiven if they have a feeling they are not in Kansas anymore. The Sunflower State finishes a respectable No. 19 overall in this year's CNBC America's Top States for Business rankings. That is a 16-place jump from 2018, making Kansas this year's most improved state.

One year ago Kansas was still nursing a hangover from a disastrous tax-cutting experiment by former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who slashed individual income-tax rates and eliminated taxes on "pass-through" income from certain businesses. Even though a bipartisan super-majority of the state legislature had repealed the Brownback program over his veto in 2017, the state was still dealing with a residual $351 million revenue shortfall for fiscal 2018, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In addition to its No. 35 overall ranking last year, Kansas finished a dismal No. 45 in the Economy category.

This year the full force of the repeal has taken effect: The state is running a budget surplus. In addition to the 16-point improvement in its overall ranking, Kansas rises 16 points in the Economy category.

"We are returning to our roots as a very progressive, thoughtful, forward-looking state," Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, told CNBC in an interview. Kelly was elected last year as part of the backlash over the Brownback plan.

Delusiona economics are a cruel mistress.