Author: Bob Weeks
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Tax increment financing (TIF) resources
Resources on tax increment financing (TIF) districts.
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Wichita TIF projects: some background
Tax increment financing disrupts the usual flow of tax dollars, routing funds away from cash-strapped cities, counties, and schools back to the TIF-financed development. TIF creates distortions in the way cities develop, and researchers find that the use of TIF means lower economic growth.
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Wichita loan agreement subject to interpretation
In 2009 the City of Wichita entered into an ambiguous agreement to grant a forgivable loan, and then failed to follow its own agreement. Worse yet, there has been no improvement to similar contracts. Such agreements empower the city to grant favor at its discretion.
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Wichitaliberty.TV: Special taxes for artists
In this excerpt from WichitaLiberty.TV: Wichita government spending on economic development leads to imagined problems that require government intervention and more taxpayer contribution to resolve. The cycle of organic rebirth of cities is then replaced with bureaucratic management.
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A chance for Wichita to embrace transparency
Promises of transparency were made during the recent Wichita sales tax campaign. If the city cares about government transparency, the city should implement its promises, even though the tax did not pass.
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Kansas school finance case based on inadequate standards
The just-released Gannon school finance decision in Kansas concludes that not long ago Kansas schools were functioning adequately. But data on Kansas school standards says something else.
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Clawbacks illustrate difficulty of economic development
Politicians and government officials like clawbacks in economic development incentive agreements. But do these provisions have any negative aspects?
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Year in Review: 2014
Here is a sampling of stories from Voice for Liberty in 2014.
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Economic development in Sedgwick County
The issue of awarding an economic development incentive reveals much as to why the Wichita-area economy has not grown.
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Sedgwick County meeting video, not for everyone
Trying to view video of Sedgwick County Commission meetings could be frustrating for many citizens.
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Kansas is not an entrepreneurial state
The performance of Kansas in entrepreneurial activity is not high, compared to other states.
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Myth: Markets promote greed and selfishness
Markets make it possible for the most altruistic, as well as the most selfish, to advance their purposes in peace, writes Tom G. Palmer.