Before You Vote, Ask Kansas Politicians This One Question

Originally published at Kansas Policy Institute. 

Between now and the August 4 primary election, Kansans will hear familiar promises before they vote. Candidates will pledge lower taxes, better schools, safer communities, stronger healthcare, and a more affordable Kansas. Advance voting begins July 15, so those conversations are already taking place across the state.
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Listen carefully. Nearly every candidate will explain why the government should spend more in one area or another. Very few will explain where the government should spend less. That should be the first question every voter asks.

Government doesn’t create wealth. Kansans do. Government can protect life, liberty, property, and the rule of law, but every dollar it spends first comes from taxpayers. Every new program, subsidy, or tax credit carries a cost, even when politicians pretend otherwise.

So ask a simple question: Which government program would you eliminate?

Not which program you would study. Not which commission you would create. Which existing program, subsidy, or agency should end?

If a candidate cannot identify one area where the government has grown beyond its proper role, why should anyone believe promises of lower taxes or smaller government?

Kansas has learned this lesson before. Tax relief without spending restraint doesn’t last. When spending continues to grow, tax cuts eventually disappear. The Responsible Kansas Budget shows why lasting tax relief must begin with lasting spending discipline. 

Government should grow no faster than taxpayers’ ability to pay, measured by population growth plus inflation, and even that limit should be tighter today after years of excessive pandemic-era spending.

Then ask another question. If state revenues fall next year, what will you cut?

Kansas cannot print money like Washington (not that Washington should but they can). When revenues come in below expectations, lawmakers have only two responsible options: reduce spending or drain reserves before taxpayers eventually receive the bill. Responsible budgeting means making those choices before a crisis arrives.

The 2026 Kansas Green Book shows Kansas governments at the state and local levels spend roughly $5,600 per resident. Yet Kansas continues to trail many competing states in private-sector job growth, wage growth, and domestic migration. Taxpayers deserve an explanation. Are Kansans receiving enough value for every dollar the government spends?

Finally, ask candidates how they define success. Should success be measured by larger budgets and more government programs? Or should success mean stronger families, growing businesses, rising wages, and more people choosing Kansas because opportunity is greater here than somewhere else?

Those are two very different visions for the future.

The best government is not the one with the biggest budget. It is the one that performs its core responsibilities well while leaving families, workers, farmers, entrepreneurs, and employers with more freedom to build prosperous lives.

These are not Republican or Democratic questions. They are taxpayer questions. Kansas does not need candidates with longer wish lists. Kansas needs leaders willing to make difficult decisions, establish clear priorities, and explain not only what the government should do, but what the government should stop doing.

So when a candidate asks for your vote this year, don’t begin by asking what new promise they support. Ask which program they would eliminate and how they will reduce spending enough to make tax relief permanent.
Their answers will reveal whether they are prepared to govern responsibly or simply offer a bigger government with better marketing.