Income taxes are the most economically distortionary tax; discouraging work, job creation, and making it harder for Americans to live their version of the American Dream. Americans for Prosperity believes replacing Kansas income taxes with a flatter, lower tax rate brings simplicity to the Kansas tax code and budget management. Americans for Prosperity also supports requiring a two-thirds majority of the legislature in order to pass a tax increase. Kansas families have to think critically about budgets and spending, the government should do the same. Two-thirds majority vote for future tax increases encourages fiscal restraint and cutting wasteful spending rather than increasing the tax burden on Kansas families.

Instead of government growth we need private sector growth. In the past our state hampered innovation and growth among existing businesses, but Americans for Prosperity believes government budget processes should focus on whether expenditures are actually providing a benefit to the public. Enforcing performance-based budgeting creates a continuous improvement process on par with firms in the private sector. This creates not only an opportunity to find processing errors and save money but also an effective bipartisan collaboration.

Over the decades government control of healthcare has resulted in higher prices, longer wait times, and a decreasing quality of care. Americans for Prosperity believe the solution to the growing healthcare crisis is to grow the access to healthcare services. That means expanding the scope of practice for non-physician providers, removing barriers on nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists, and allowing more short-term personal option healthcare plans. It also means stopping Medicaid expansion as the program would cost the state billions, raise healthcare costs, and restrict access to care for Kansans who need it the most.

Overregulation makes inflation worse; too much government makes everything more expensive for Kansans. Kansans are feeling the weight of oversized government as our economy has stagnated while we remain the 2nd most governed state per capita in the country! Many occupational licenses make it harder for people to earn a living and achieve the American Dream by adding overly burdensome and costly barriers.

Parents and families are the best decision makers for their students. According to the statewide assessments scores of math, language arts, and science, 70% of Kansas students either need remedial training or are performing below grade level. Americans for Prosperity believes in giving each individual student the best opportunity to succeed. Every single student needs an opportunity to get the education that is best for them and parents ought to be empowered to make those decisions.

A commission of trial attorneys select nominees for the office behind closed doors with no input from Kansans or their elected legislators. This has led to an unelected judicial body acting like a super legislature. Americans for Prosperity believes that if the Kansas Supreme Court wishes to act like a legislator, then the Kansas Supreme Court should be constrained like legislators. Therefore, AFP-KS calls for a “We the People” judicial selection process that either mirrors the Federal model, which is the Chief Executive nominates a judicial candidate and the Senate confirms, or a process that allows for direct elections of Kansas Justices.