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Gosnell, the movie
31
Mar
By Bob Weeks

Gosnell, the movie

Seeking to tell the story of the most prolific serial killer in American history, filmmakers Ann McElhinney, Phelim McAleer, and Magdalena Segieda ask for your help. The subject of the proposed movie is Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia physician convicted of murder in 2013. Of his crimes, the grand jury reported: "This case is about a doctor who killed babies ... What we mean is that he regularly and illegally delivered live, viable, babies in the third trimester of pregnancy -- and then murdered these newborns by severing their spinal cords with scissors ... Over the years, many people came to…
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In Kansas, base state aid is only a small part of spending
30
Mar
By Bob Weeks

In Kansas, base state aid is only a small part of spending

Considering only base state aid per pupil leads to an incomplete understanding of school spending in Kansas. The Gannon school finance decision reinforces this. Much of the discussion surrounding school funding in Kansas has centered around base state aid per pupil. It's the starting point for the Kansas school finance formula, and therefore an important number. Base state aid per pupil has fallen in recent years. Because of this, public school spending advocates claim that spending has been cut. But that's not the case. As shown in the nearby chart, there has been a steady increase in measures of school…
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After Gannon, will Kansas public school spending boosters still love courts and constitutions?
30
Mar
By Bob Weeks

After Gannon, will Kansas public school spending boosters still love courts and constitutions?

Will Kansas Progressives' expressed love for courts and constitutions hold up in light of the school finance decision? In January Paul Davis, a prominent Kansas Democrat and candidate for governor, tweeted "With the school ruling due any day now, will Brownback comply w/the court order or try & rewrite the KS constitution?" These words were followed by a link to Davis' website that copies an article from the New York Times. (That article has its own host of problems, explained in New York Times on Kansas schools, again and More about the New York Times on Kansas school finance.) This…
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Wichita City Council fails to support informing the taxed
26
Mar
By Bob Weeks

Wichita City Council fails to support informing the taxed

It's enlightening to look back at some examples of discussion at the Wichita City Council so that we remember the attitudes of council members and city bureaucrats towards citizens. In the following example, the council was considering whether Wichitans and visitors should be notified of the amount of extra sales tax -- or even the existence of extra tax -- they will pay when shopping at merchants located within Community Improvement Districts (CIDs). Did the council side with special interests or citizens? At its December 7, 2010 meeting, the Wichita City Council considered whether stores in CIDs should be required…
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Rural Kansans’ billion-dollar subsidy of wind farms
25
Mar
By Guest Author

Rural Kansans’ billion-dollar subsidy of wind farms

From Kansas Policy Institute. Rural Kansans’ Billion-Dollar Subsidy of Wind Farms By Dave Trabert No, I'm not talking about any federal tax subsidies or mandates to buy high-cost wind energy that have forced higher taxes and electricity prices on every citizen. This billion-dollar gift comes in the form of local property tax exemptions. In some ways, this handout is even more insidious because the cost is borne by a relatively small number of Kansas homeowners and employers in the rural counties where wind farms exist. Under current law, renewable energy producers enjoy a lifetime exemption from property taxes in Kansas. I…
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In Kansas, the Blob is worked up
24
Mar
By Bob Weeks

In Kansas, the Blob is worked up

"Education reformers have a name for the resistance: the education 'Blob.' The Blob includes the teachers unions, but also janitors and principals unions, school boards, PTA bureaucrats, local politicians and so on." (John Stossel, The Blob That Ate Children.) In Kansas, we're seeing the Blob at full activation, vigorously protecting its interests. The source of the Blob's consternation is a bill in the Kansas Legislature that would add charter schools and tax credit scholarships to the educational landscape in Kansas. (Kansas does have charter schools at present, but the law is so stacked in favor of the Blob's interests that…
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Washington Post out on a limb, again
24
Mar
By Bob Weeks

Washington Post out on a limb, again

It's really astonishing to see John Hinderaker of Powerline take apart the Washington Post. I wonder if Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com is aware of what he bought last year for $250 million? The background of the story is that the Washington Post has published an article that is demonstrably false, and for political reasons. As to why the Post has walked out on a limb too far, he writes: Let me offer an alternative explanation of why the Washington Post published their Keystone/Koch smear: 1) The Washington Post in general, and Mufson and Eilperin in particular, are agents of the…
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In Wichita, if you don’t like it, just don’t go there
24
Mar
By Bob Weeks

In Wichita, if you don’t like it, just don’t go there

As Wichita city officials prepare a campaign to raise the sales tax in Wichita, let's recall some council members' attitude towards citizens. At a Wichita City Council meeting in August 2012, Council Member Lavonta Williams (district 1, northeast Wichita) advised taxpayers on what to do if they disagree with action taken by the council: Just don't go there. The topic that day was whether the council should decide to add fluoride to the city's water, or should it let citizens vote on the matter. Williams expressed concern that if the council were to decide to fluoridate Wichita's water, citizens would…
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WichitaLiberty.TV: For whose benefit are elections, school employment, wind power, unions, unemployment
22
Mar
By Bob Weeks

WichitaLiberty.TV: For whose benefit are elections, school employment, wind power, unions, unemployment

In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: The controversy over the timing of city and school board elections provides an insight into government. Then: Can a candidate for governor’s claims about Kansas school employment be believed? Wind power is expensive electricity, very expensive. A Wichita auto dealer pushes back against union protests. Finally, what is the real rate of unemployment in America? Episode 36, broadcast March 23, 2014. View below, or click here to view at YouTube.
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