William K. Black: "They’re Back: The Poltergeists in the Kansas Senate Renew their Attack on Education" @ New Economic Perspectives

[Excerpt] ... As someone who teaches economics, it is wondrously strange to see the Koch-heads denounce science as mere “theory” while dogmatically chanting Laffer’s falsified myths as if they were gospel. The Koch-heads, of course, see nothing inconsistent between embracing creation myths and Laffer’s myths as revealed truths. Brownback paid Laffer $75,000 to serve as Kansas’ high priest and celebrant of the miracle of income tax cuts. Because Laffer’s myths failed in Kansas the Koch-heads were promptly confronted with burnt ashes – the inability to fund their budget. The result was a wonderful series of accounting scams and attempts to raid the highway funds, a $2 billion “error” that produced Brownback’s fictional budget cuts, and as I discuss below, a Koch-headed assault on Kansas education.

Second, as I will explain in greater detail in a future column, the Koch-heads are still capable of embarrassment. They are not indifferent to their policies being exposed and prompting national disdain. This is fortunate for Kansas, for the number of nasty actions that the Koch-heads sought to inflict but backed off of when their proposals were exposed to ridicule is exceptional. Had the Koch-heads gotten their way Aynrandia would long since have become Aynrandistan. The irony is that the Koch-heads would have already destroyed Kansas but for the brake that their vastly outnumbered political opponents have placed on the Koch-head’s recurrent tendency to listen to the worst demons who repeatedly drown out the better angels of their nature. Since only derision seems to stop them from their worst abuses, such as the Regents’ craven destruction of academic freedom and tenure, I have adopted that tone in this article. ... [End of Excerpt]