The only way to get a state budget approved is for the governor and a majority of state legislators to compromise. That means everyone is going to have to give up something they want in order to pass a balanced budget.

They may as well get started.

In recent days, a variety of tax increases have been proposed in House and Senate committees. The governor’s plan to raise cigarette and liquor taxes is going nowhere. Other possibilities include increased sales tax or maybe adding 5 cents a gallon to the state gasoline tax. A plan that would eliminate the homestead property tax exemption, adding about $46 to most homeowners’ property tax bills, gained tentative approval, but it would only raise about $45 million toward closing the state’s $400 million budget gap.

Officials from the Brownback administration continue to tout the supposed benefit of staying the course on the income tax reductions that were passed three years ago. They refer to income tax as a “production” tax and say that raising it would hurt the state’s productivity. So it’s better, they say, to concentrate on “consumption” taxes like sales tax, liquor tax, cigarette tax, gasoline tax, etc.

It’s good that some legislators are starting to question that philosophy, pointing out that economic vitality also depends on demand and consumption. It doesn’t matter what goods and services the Kansas economy produces if so much of the state’s tax burden is shifted to consumers that they can’t afford to buy as many of those goods and services.

Maybe the discussions that are occurring in House and Senate committees are primarily intended to gather information to be used in the real budget negotiations which are occurring behind closed doors. Maybe they are a way to gauge legislative tolerance or support for various tax proposals that may be included in the final budget package. It’s hard for Kansans to know.

One thing they do know is that it’s impossible to cut state spending enough to close this budget hole. Raising enough revenue to balance the budget will be a process of give-and-take that should include revisiting the state’s income tax changes, not just increasing the “consumption” taxes or property taxes that will be borne disproportionately by the state’s low- and middle-income residents.

As is true with almost every state budget, this year’s budget will have to be a package deal that includes some compromises. For instance, legislators may be willing to accept some level of cigarette and liquor tax increase if the governor is willing to accept some revision of his income tax policy. It’s all about the give and take.

It’s time for elected state officials to start fighting their way out of this budget mess. Standing on principle is great, but it’s time to get practical and produce a budget that is fair to all Kansans and serves the best interests of the state as a whole.