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Government vs. private investment and the downtown Wichita arena
Read more: Government vs. private investment and the downtown Wichita arenaA Wichita businessman proposes building an arena that, while not as large as the downtown Wichita arena being built by Sedgwick County, would provide some competition to the government-owned arena.
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Kansas lags fiscally again
Read more: Kansas lags fiscally againKansas is once again falling behind. The growth in state tax receipts has allowed the legislature to increase state spending. This revenue growth could also provide some much needed tax relief to try and make this state’s fiscal climate more competitive.
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The law vs. markets
Read more: The law vs. marketsOne of the criticisms of raising the minimum wage is that it is Congress substituting its judgment for the market’s in determining pay. While Congress can force an employer to pay an employee a minimum amount, it can’t force the employer to keep the employee.
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No end to increasing regulation
Read more: No end to increasing regulationContrary to the popular perception, Bush has been one of the most pro-regulation presidents — far more so than Democrat Bill Clinton, who, in many ways, was a better friend to the free market than Bush has been.
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Political power is the opposite of freedom
Read more: Political power is the opposite of freedomThe problem is that politicians are not supposed to have power over us – we’re supposed to be free. We seem to have forgotten that freedom means the absence of government coercion. So when politicians and the media celebrate political power, they really are celebrating the power of certain individuals to use coercive state force.
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The Plunder of the Legislative Process
Read more: The Plunder of the Legislative ProcessIt is amazing to read the words of Bastiat, written over 150 years ago, but applicable today: Your principle has placed these words above the entrance of the legislative chamber: “whosoever acquires any influence here can obtain his share of legal plunder.” And what has been the result? All classes have flung themselves upon the…
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The decline of local chambers of commerce
Read more: The decline of local chambers of commerce“I used to think that public employee unions like the NEA were the main enemy in the struggle for limited government, competition and private sector solutions,” says Mr. Caldera of the Independence Institute. “I was wrong. Our biggest adversary is the special interest business cartel that labels itself ‘the business community’ and its political machine…
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The taking of private property
Read more: The taking of private propertyEminent domain is not the only way that private property can be acquired by government. Placing restrictions on the land by law or regulation can also be a taking that warrants just compensation.
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Tax increment financing in Wichita benefits few
Read more: Tax increment financing in Wichita benefits fewIn Wichita, tax increment financing (TIF) benefits few at the expense of many.
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How To Judge the Worth of Ethanol
Read more: How To Judge the Worth of EthanolFrom The Wall Street Journal, January 27, 2007: “Ethanol gets a 51-cent a gallon domestic subsidy, and there’s another 54-cent a gallon tariff applied at the border against imported ethanol. Without those subsidies, hardly anyone would make the stuff, much less buy it — despite recent high oil prices.” Remove this subsidy and the tariff.…
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Bureaucracy vs. something that works
Read more: Bureaucracy vs. something that worksHere’s how the education bureaucracy and teachers unions won out over students in the creation of the No Child Left Behind Act:
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Market forces and teacher (mis)-education
Read more: Market forces and teacher (mis)-educationIn a system governed by market forces, teacher pay would be based on how well students learn, not how many superfluous degrees teachers accumulate