Economic freedom Archives - Page 21 of 22 Voice For Liberty

Feb

Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Sunday February 27, 2011

Boeing tanker contract. While almost everyone in Kansas is celebrating the award of the air fueling tanker replacement contract to Boeing, there are a few reasons we shouldn't over-celebrate. First, we bought an expensive war weapon. This is guns, not butter. President Dwight Eisenhower warned against the creation of a permanent armaments industry. Now our leaders celebrate defense spending as a jobs creation program, forgetting the opportunity costs of this spending. ... In 2008, when the contract was awarded to the foreign company European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. (EADS) and Boeing successfully protested the award, the editorial page of…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Koch executives respond to fraudulent call

This week a prankster called Wisconsin governor Scott Walker and pretended to be David Koch, who is executive vice president of Koch Industries. Responding to the fraudulent call in National Review Online, Koch executives pledged to continue supporting free enterprise, free markets, and economic freedom in spite of opposition generated as part of an "orchestrated campaign" headed by the Obama Administration and groups like Center for American Progress. Bringing in labor groups is an escalation not seen before. The prank call is described as "fraudulent." Koch Executives Speak Out on Wisconsin "We will not step back at all." By Robert…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Kansas Economic Freedom Index released

Today marks the release of the first Kansas Economic Freedom Index for the 2011 legislative session. To view the index, click on Kansas Economic Freedom Index. Why is economic freedom important? Here's what Milton Friedman had to say in the opening chapter of his monumental work Capitalism and Freedom: The Relation between Economic Freedom and Political Freedom It is widely believed that politics and economics are separate and largely unconnected; that individual freedom is a political problem and material welfare an economic problem; and that any kind of political arrangements can be combined with any kind of economic arrangements. The…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Kansas auto dealers have anti-competitive law on their side

In Topeka, a new car dealer wants to add the Buick and GMC lines to its dealership. In Wichita, an RV dealer wants to add an additional location. But if a privileged class of people are able to persuade the Kansas director of vehicles, these actions won't be allowed. In Kansas, like many states, existing new car dealers are able to weigh in as to whether competition will be allowed into their market areas. In Kansas, the statue is 8-2430, captioned "Establishment of additional or relocation of existing new vehicle dealer; procedure; relevant market area." Examination of this statute lets…

Jan

By Bob Weeks

Koch Industries: Jobs created through market principles

Now that President Barack Obama has embraced job creation in his 2011 State of the Union Address, he might want to take a look at a company that has been successful in creating both jobs and value for its customers. Wichita-based Koch Industries Inc. has done this through an application of market-based practices as described in The Science of Success: How Market-Based Management Built the World's Largest Private Company, a 2007 book authored by company CEO Charles G. Koch. Koch's approach has been successful. Since 1960, the value of Koch Industries Inc. has increased faster than the value of the…

Jan

By Bob Weeks

Arts funding in Kansas

Arts funding by the State of Kansas has been in the news recently, as Governor Sam Brownback has proposed that the state stop funding the Kansas Arts Commission. This is a good move, as Kansas would be better off without state-funded art for two reasons: economic and artistic. The economic case for government art funding Supporters of government art funding make the case that government-funded art is good for business and the economy. They have an impressive-looking study titled Arts & Economic Prosperity III: The Economic Impact of the Nonprofit Arts and Culture Industry in the State of Kansas, which…

Jan

By Guest Author

In Kansas, everything is okay — not

A few weeks ago Kansas University political science professor Burdett Loomis had an opinion piece in The Wichita Eagle. Commenting on it at the time, I wrote "Overall, Loomis presents an argument for the status quo in Kansas government, and the potential for change in the direction of restraining its growth has Loomis -- in his own words -- 'concerned -- worried, even.'" Now Alan Cobb of Topeka, who is vice president of state operations at Americans for Prosperity Foundation, comments. Following is the unabridged version of Cobb's op-ed that appeared in today's Wichita Eagle. A few weeks ago, noted…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Economic freedom at decline, across the U.S. and in Wichita

Earlier this year Robert Lawson appeared in Wichita to speak about economic freedom throughout the world. While the United States presently ranks well, that is changing. Writing this month in The Freeman, Lawson and his colleagues warn of dangerous trends -- particularly the Obama Administration's response to the recession -- that pose a threat to the economic freedom that powers growth and prosperity. While the article is focused primarily at the national economy, there are lessons to be learned locally, too. In particular, increasing intervention into the state and local economy leads to compounding the loss of economic freedom. As…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Tuesday December 21, 2010

Steineger switches teams. Chris Steineger, a Kansas State Senator from Kansas City, has switched to the Republican Party. As a Democrat, Steineger had compiled a voting record more conservative than many senate Republicans. On the Kansas Economic Freedom Index for this year -- recognizing that supporting economic freedom is not the same as conservatism or Republicanism -- Steineger had a voting record more in favor of economic freedom than that of 15 of the senate's Republicans. Kansas school funding reform to wait. Incoming Kansas Governor Sam Brownback says that the Kansas economy comes first, and then school finance, Medicaid, and…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Eminent domain reserved for use in Wichita

As part of the plan for the future of downtown Wichita, the city council was asked to formally disavow the use of eminent domain to take private property for the purpose of economic development. The council would not agree to this restriction. Susan Estes noted that the legislative agenda that the city council passed earlier in the meeting supported "home rule and local control as the most valid solution for recurring legislative issues." High on the list of these issues is eminent domain. Estes asked that the city adopt a statement that the city will not use eminent domain to…