Author: Bob Weeks
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Wichita economic development on tap
This week the Wichita City Council will consider another economic development incentive in the form of property tax abatements, this time to a company described as a “frequent flyer” in this regard. The council ought to take a few moments to explain to citizens why this action is necessary, if in fact it is.
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Kansas school test scores, in perspective
When comparing Kansas school test scores to those of other states, it’s important to consider disaggregated data. Otherwise we may — figuratively speaking — let the forest obscure the trees.
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Walter Williams: How to do good
Economist Walter Williams told a Wichita audience that when government is used in an attempt to do good, it requires either elimination or attenuation of private property and market forces. But it is private property and the desire for more that motivates people to do difficult and laborious things that benefit their fellow man. It…
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Wichita city council advances economic development
Yesterday’s action taken by the Wichita City Council regarding economic development incentives granted to Cessna Aircraft Company through the Industrial Revenue Bond program may be confusing to some people.
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Wichita Airport traffic: The video
To keep airfares low at the Wichita Airport, the Wichita City Council in partnership with Sedgwick County and the State of Kansas pays a discount air carrier to operate in Wichita. While the program almost certainly has the intended effect on airfares, there is another effect: The trend of flights and seats available in Wichita…
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Wichita City Council makes an uneconomic decision
The Wichita City Council was faced with a decision regarding a program designed to stimulate the sales of new homes. Analysis revealed that even though the city had an opportunity to make an investment with a purportedly high return on investment, it would be better off, dollar-wise, if it did not make the investment.
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Your local chamber of commerce: Working for you?
Is your local chamber of commerce supporting pro-growth policies that allow free enterprise and genuine capitalism to flourish, or is it supporting crony capitalism?
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Cessna, another Wichita company asking for tax relief
As Wichita considers granting tax relief to a major employer, it becomes more difficult for entrepreneurs and young companies to survive.
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WichitaLiberty.TV December 1, 2013
In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: What is libertarianism? Is it dangerous, as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently warned? David J. Theroux, who is Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Independent Institute and Publisher of The Independent Review stopped by the WichitaLiberty.TV studios to answer these questions and give the liberty-based perspective on…
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Wichita won’t consider this, I’m sure
Will Wichita consider privatization and entrepreneurship for the solution to its transit problems?
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Federal grants seen to increase future local spending
Not only are we taxed to pay for the cost of funding federal and state grants, the units of government that receive grants are very likely to raise their own levels of taxation in response to the receipt of the grants. This creates a cycle of ever-expanding government.