Sam Brownback taxes sin to balance the budget

Kansas is in trouble, and Sam Brownback (the reason why), has realized it.  So guess what he's doing to try and fix it?

Raising taxes, that's what.  On booze and cigs.

Sam Brownback reverses course, proposes new taxes

"In a stark turnaround, the Republican called for higher taxes on cigarettes and liquor as part of his annual budget while proposing to make future tax cuts contingent on revenue projections."

Ouch.  ("The latest budget plan includes a major hike in taxes on cigarettes from 79 cents per pack to $2.29 per pack and a jump in a tax on liquor from 8 percent to 12 percent.")

Oh. Sin taxes.  Well, raise them high enough and people won't smoke and won't drink.  Then where are you?

“My budget proposal recognizes that the current budget trajectory is unsustainable and that difficult solutions are required by state law as well as by fiscal prudence,” Brownback said in releasing his two-year budget."

OUCH.

"Kansas revenue analysts reported in November that the state would require $278 million in cuts by this June to balance the budget. They said a state reserve fund of about $379 million would be emptied, and lawmakers should cut an additional $435 million to avoid a deficit this year."

That left a mark, didn't it?