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It’s not the same as pee in the swimming pool
Read more: It’s not the same as pee in the swimming poolIn a column in the February 27, 2008 Wichita Eagle (“Smoking ban issue not one to negotiate”), columnist Mark McCormick quotes Charlie Claycomb, co-chair of Tobacco Free Wichita, as equating a smoking section in a restaurant with “a urinating section in a swimming pool.” This is a ridiculous comparison. A person can’t tell upon entering…
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Homeowners not only people affected by Wichita school bond issue
Read more: Homeowners not only people affected by Wichita school bond issueA letter in the February 27, 2008 Wichita Eagle makes the case that using property tax increases to fund improvements to Wichita public schools gives renters a “free ride.” This is because renters, as they don’t own the homes they live in, escape paying property taxes. This is distinguished from homeowners, who “pay for everything,”…
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Earmarks and pork thoroughly established
Read more: Earmarks and pork thoroughly establishedIn a letter printed in the February 22, 2008 Wichita Eagle, Sedgwick County Commission Chairman Tom Winters, along with Wichita State University President Don Beggs, praised some Kansas congressmen for being “very effective Washington advocates for south-central Kansas.” What the congressmen — Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, and Kansas Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts –…
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Wichita school district arithmetic
Read more: Wichita school district arithmeticWhat could be the basis of the claim that Mr. Gramke made, that the budget was being cut? Is this the way that Wichita school district officials do arithmetic? I suspect that Mr. Gramke was simply exposing the attitude that many government bureaucrats and officials have: if the budget doesn’t increase as much as they…
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Are you polluting Kansas?
Read more: Are you polluting Kansas?Lost in the debate over the building of a coal-fired electricity plant in Kansas is the fact that China builds a plant like this every week to ten days, according to the New York Times. Nonetheless, newspaper editorial writers like Randy Scholfield of The Wichita Eagle want to saddle Kansans with higher utility bills and…
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Wasteful tax cuts
Read more: Wasteful tax cutsIn the February 21, 2008 debate between Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama, Clinton mentioned the “wasteful tax cuts of the Bush administration.”
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Wichita school district tax revenues rise rapidly
Read more: Wichita school district tax revenues rise rapidlyThe combination of a rising mill levy (the rate at which property is taxed) and rising appraised values mean that property taxes paid to USD 259, the Wichita public school district, rise rapidly.
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Wichita public school spending and enrollment
Read more: Wichita public school spending and enrollmentAs the voters of USD 259 (Wichita public school district) consider a bond issue in 2008, consider Wichita public school spending and enrollment figures.
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Testimony against taxpayer-funded lobbying
Read more: Testimony against taxpayer-funded lobbyingThe following testimony from John Todd explains some of the harmful effects of taxpayer-funded lobbying. Isn’t it terrible that that interests of governmental bodies like the city and county you live in or your local school district are different from your interests? As John explains, local government has become a special interest group, and like…
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Wichita school bond issue impact is an illusion
Read more: Wichita school bond issue impact is an illusionThe money that will pay for the new facilities has to come from somewhere. When people pay taxes to USD 259, those tax payments represent money they can’t spend somewhere else. Economic activity that might have taken place will not, because people had to spend their money on taxes. This means that if the bond…
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Wichita school bond issue not the only proposed tax increase
Read more: Wichita school bond issue not the only proposed tax increaseAs the residents of Wichita consider whether to vote for the $350 million school bond issue proposed by the board of USD 259 (Wichita public school district), be aware that the bond issue and its associated increase in property taxes is not the only tax increase the public schools in Kansas would like to have.…
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New tax targets Kansas senior citizens
Read more: New tax targets Kansas senior citizensA proposal to raise a new “assessment” or tax on nursing home bound Kansas elderly will have its first hearing in front of the Kansas senate’s Ways and Means Committee February 14. The new charge on nursing home residents will total $1,733.75 a year or $4.75 a day if the proposed bill, S.B. 585, becomes…