Grasping Reality on TypePad, by Brad DeLong

Brad Cooper: Kansas tax revenues plunge again: "Kansas revenues plunged again in May, leaving the state more than $300 million below estimates for the current year... revenues fell $217 million below estimates in May... leav[ing] the state about $310 million short for the entire current fiscal year, which ends June 30....

And Brownback's people seem to have no reluctance whatsoever to simply tell lies about why it happened:

“Unfortunately, we underestimated, as did other states, the impact of the federal fiscal cliff,” Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan said in a statement. Critics have blamed Brownback’s income tax cuts, which were cited recently when Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the state’s credit rating at the end of last month. Moody’s warned that the income tax cuts--without offsetting measures such as spending cuts--would drain the states reserves. That, the ratings firm said, would pose a “significant credit weakness.” The rating agency cautioned that spending cuts won’t be easy because of court-ordered spending on schools, keeping up with Medicaid demands and funding the state’s pension system...