The Kansas Common Sense Fund, with support from the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund (based in Hutchinson, Kansas) released the results of their recent statewide poll. Kansans have expressed their desire to see the legislature pass Medicaid Expansion year after year. Affordable child care is practically a contradiction in terms, and housing costs remain a concern for more than half of us Kansans. The Kansas Reflector covered the release, and you can read more about it from the Kansas Reflector here. 

A recent report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that Wichita man Charles Koch would save $875,000 under the "flat tax" plan being pushed by the Kansas Policy Institute, AFP-KS, and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce - along with Legislative Leaders Speaker Dan Hawkins and Senate President Ty Masterson, both of whom also hail from the Wichita area.

The Kansas Policy Institute took to Twitter this afternoon to shill for flat tax - and deceive Kansans. In their literal fake news headline KPI states "... claim flat tax creates deficits is not true..." without making any mention of the fact that the same research they cite shows the exact opposite - and that the flat tax plan would lead to a literal deficit of $308.4 million after 5 years. 

Kansans know a bill of goods when they see one, so KPI's attempts to make the facts fit their story are unlikely to work. Still, it would be nice if they didn't try to trick us in the first place.

(KS Legislative Research Department Flat Tax Net Receipts Estimates)

The Emporia City Commission just passed Resolution 3721, giving a thumbs up to Medicaid expansion in Kansas. The Resolution highlights better healthcare access, relief for emergency services, and economic benefits for the community as prime reasons to support Medicaid's expansion. Read more here!

Child Care Aware of Kansas publishes point-in-time data on child care in our state. Here is the December 27, 2023 report which shows a need for an additional 84,655 child care slots, and a current average rate for center-based care of $1,249.54 per month, per infant.