Voice for Liberty

Mar

Testimony in Opposition to Senate Bill 58

From John Todd. Members House Taxation Committee State Capitol Topeka, Kansas 66612 Subject: Testimony in OPPOSITION TO SENATE BILL #58 (Sales Tax Increase For The Proposed Downtown Wichita Arena). My name is John Todd. I am a self-employed real estate broker from Wichita, and I come before you in opposition to the enabling legislation that would allow Sedgwick County to raise the local sales tax 1% to fund a new Downtown Arena in violation of current state law. Under current state law, Counties in Kansas are not authorized to raise county sales taxes for projects like the proposed Downtown Wichita…

Mar

Testimony regarding House Bill No. 2132

Written testimony of Bob Weeks regarding House Bill No. 2132. A pdf version is available here: http://wichitaliberty.org/files/House_Bill_2132_Testimony_by_Bob_Weeks_2005-03-10.pdf March 10, 2005 Thank you for allowing me to present this written testimony. I realize that the voters in Sedgwick County voted for the arena sales tax increase. I believe, however, there is ample reason why you should vote against the tax. The idea of the taxpayer-funded arena came about so fast in the summer of 2004 that there was little thought given to the underlying issues. I wish to present what my research has uncovered. WSU Study Not Complete On of the…

Mar

A Letter to the Editor is Edited

I wrote a letter to the editor of The Wichita Eagle for publication. It was published today, March 7, 2005. I have learned a lesson: my letter was much too long. I don't fault the Eagle for editing for space reasons. I do think, though, that my letter has a much different meaning in its edited form. You can be the judge. I have created a document that shows, side-by-side, my original letter and the published letter. The link is here: http://wichitaliberty.org/files/Letter_of_2005-03-07_Edited.pdf

Mar

GOP and ex-GOP Legislators Promoting Higher Kansas Taxes

From Karl Peterjohn, Executive Director Kansas Taxpayers Network In a March 4 report on Democrat Washington Day events in Topeka, Hawver News Editor Martin Hawver told about two well known Republicans involved in this statewide Democratic Party event. First is former state representative and former house majority leader Joe Hoagland, ex-Rino Johnson County, who told Democrats that, "I'm never going back," to the KS GOP. Hoagland also claimed that there were a number of fellow GOP "moderates" aka as liberals who would be joining him on becoming Democrats. None were named in this article. Hoagland briefly flirted last year with…

Mar

Martha, I’m Glad You’re Home

Writing from Newton, Iowa. Alan Reynolds, writing for the Cato Institute, wrote in June 2003 this: Believe it or not, the government now charges Martha Stewart with "securities fraud" during that same period because she supposedly tried in vain to prop up her own stock by denying that she was guilty of the crime then charged -- insider trading. Yet the government now admits she was never guilty of that crime. Instead, she supposedly "obstructed justice" (her own threatened prosecution for a nonexistent crime) and made "false and misleading statements" about her reasons for making a perfectly legal sale of…

Mar

Kansas (Our Governor, That Is) Earns a “D”

In a policy analysis published today by the Cato Institute (Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2004) Kansas -- or more accurately Kansas's Governor -- earns a grade of "D" based on 15 objective measures of fiscal performance. The authors state: "Our analysis shows that states that keep tax rates low and restrain spending growth have the best economic performance and thus the best longterm fiscal health." It is such a simple recipe for success, but so difficult for politicians to implement. As the authors state again: Yet the sad truth is that the longer most of the senior…

Mar

By Bob Weeks

KNEA Tax Plan Would Hurt Kansas

From our friends at the Kansas Taxpayers Network. KANSAS TAXPAYERS NETWORK P.O. Box 20050 Wichita, KS 67208 316-684-0082 FAX 316-684-7527 www.kansastaxpayers.com March 1, 2005 Editorial For Immediate Release KNEA TAX PLAN WOULD HURT KANSAS By Karl Peterjohn The powerful and left-wing National Education Association's Kansas affiliate is working hard to raise your taxes. In a February Olathe News article Terry Forsyth, one of the Kansas National Education Association's (KNEA) lobbyists, is quoted claiming that there is no correlation between taxes and job growth. Obviously Mr. Forsyth seems unfamiliar with high tax and high spending states like New York that have…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

The Law by Frederic Bastiat

About a year ago I became acquainted with the writings of the economist Walter E. Williams. After reading his foreword to this book, I understand -- as Williams says himself -- how important Bastiat's writings are. As Williams says: Reading Bastiat made me keenly aware of all the time wasted, along with the frustrations of going down one blind alley after another, organizing my philosophy of life. The Law did not produce a philosophical conversion for me as much as it created order in my thinking about liberty and just human conduct. And then this: ...Bastiat's greatest contribution is that…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Court Sets Trap for Legislature

I received the following, which I thought was interesting, so I present it. I do not entirely understand the author's argument, so if anyone can help me understand, I would appreciate it. Kansas Legislative Education And Research 827 SW TOPEKA BLVD TOPEKA, KS 66612 PHONE: 785 233 8765 EMAIL: ks klear@swbell.net Contact: Bob L. Corkins Court sets Trap for Legislature The Bait: "The Kansas Constitution thus imposes a mandate that our educational system cannot be static or regressive... "...there is substantial competent evidence, including the Augenblick & Myers study, establishing that a suitable education, as that term is defined by…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Rep. Loganbill Advocates More Tax Brackets

On Saturday February 12, 2005, I attended a meeting of the South-Central Kansas Legislative Delegation. State Representative Judith Loganbill made remarks that included the fact that the maximum Kansas individual income tax rate becomes effective at taxable incomes of $30,000 for singles and $60,000 for married couples. A member of the audience spoke and expressed astonishment to learn this. I didn't think about it at the time, but I now realize that Rep. Loganbill was advocating more tax brackets with higher rates.

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