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Denouncing “Greed”
Read more: Denouncing “Greed”Today there are adults — including educated adults — who explain multimillion-dollar corporate executives’ salaries as being due to “greed.” Think about it: I could become so greedy that I wanted a fortune twice the size of Bill Gates’ — but this greed would not increase my income by one cent. …One of the reasons…
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The Value of the Businessman
Read more: The Value of the BusinessmanAn outstanding feature of the open market is the businessman, whose success or failure depends entirely on his ability to “focus on consumer needs” and so combine existing and potential factors of production to serve consumers most efficiently. The only constructive role government can play under the free market method of overcoming poverty is to…
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Spending and the true cost of government
Read more: Spending and the true cost of government(WICHITA) ? While lawmakers face a challenge to increase spending from many directions, they need to resist some of these pressures in order to control excessive government spending. In a policy brief released by the Flint Hills Center, ?The Virtue of a Self-Imposed Spending Cap for the Kansas Legislature,? Jonathan Williams documents the growth of…
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Record setting spending in Topeka
Read more: Record setting spending in TopekaNow that the inconvenience of the 2006 election is behind us, the statehouse is getting back to what it does best: spending your tax dollars. Governor Sebelius’ latest state budget will set two new records for increased spending.
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Tax Growth Exceeds Income Growth
Read more: Tax Growth Exceeds Income GrowthSeveral recent national fiscal surveys have pointed out that Kansas’ fiscal climate is not conducive to economic growth and we rank poorly with most of our neighboring states. There is tremendous tax uncertainty that is reflected in both the high level of property taxes in Kansas but the sizable property tax increases that occur through…
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Preserve farmland at what cost?
Read more: Preserve farmland at what cost?There are two areas in which I believe this writer is mistaken. First, if the transaction between developer and farmer was voluntary, each is better off than they were before. The developer (and by extension the people he hopes to sell houses to) valued the land more than the farmer did. Otherwise, why would the…
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Wichita downtown arena project’s failing finances
Read more: Wichita downtown arena project’s failing finances“The arena critics are being proven right,” said Karl Peterjohn, Executive Director of the Kansas Taxpayers Network, the oldest taxpayer organization in Kansas. “As the leading opponent of the 2004 downtown arena project in Wichita, it is becoming increasingly clear that this project is in major trouble.”
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Wichita City Council and Cessna Aircraft Company Industrial Revenue Bonds
Read more: Wichita City Council and Cessna Aircraft Company Industrial Revenue BondsI received this letter written to Wichita Mayor Carlos Mayans and members of the Wichita City Council. The author makes excellent points about the harmful effects of special tax treatment for special interests. A better goal would be to work to reduce taxes for all companies and all people. This way, each company and individual…
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Maximum taxes means minimum growth
Read more: Maximum taxes means minimum growthKansas has high taxes. Even worse, the high taxes are high property taxes that stifle capital formation and hold down wages. Two new studies rank Kansas at the bottom of this region when it comes to soaring property taxes. That should not be too surprising since Kansas and Nebraska are the two states that provide…
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Minimum wage price controls hurt Kansas
Read more: Minimum wage price controls hurt KansasThis article presents compelling evidence that raising the minimum wage is not in the best interests of low-wage workers.
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The motivations of politicians
Read more: The motivations of politiciansI do not know the answer to these questions, and given our collective experience with politicians, I probably wouldn’t believe Mr. Knight if he answered them. Such is the credibility of the motivations of politicians.
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On praising Milton Friedman
Read more: On praising Milton FriedmanI wonder how many of the newspaper reporters and editorial writers praising Milton Friedman, not to mention politicians, knew of his strong belief in and advocacy of a very limited government. Would they still praise him? Would they be willing to take his advice?