Tag: Free markets
-
Kansas historic preservation tax credits should not be expanded
The Kansas historic preservation tax credit system should not be expanded beyond its current limit. We must recognize that a tax credit is an appropriation of Kansans’ money made through the tax system. If the legislature is not comfortable with writing a developer a check for over $1,000,000 — as in the case with one…
-
Detroit, corporate welfare and Wichita’s future
Recently The Eagle printed an article by Molly McMillin, a well-respected aviation and business reporter. The question asked throughout the article is one that Wichita leaders and citizens have been asking for some time: What can we do to prevent Wichita from falling into the hole that is Detroit? A simple answer is to continue…
-
Importance of economic freedom explained in Wichita
Yesterday Robert Lawson appeared in Wichita to deliver a lecture titled “Economic Freedom and the Wealth and Health of Nations.” The lecture explained how Lawson and his colleagues calculate the annual “Economic Freedom of the World” index, which ranks most of the countries of the world in how the “policies and institutions of countries are…
-
United States Government customer service: think twice
For those who argue that we should turn over more activity — such as health care — to the federal government, take a close look at a government monopoly that’s been around for a long time.
-
Regulation has not lessened, instead it has harmed us
Last week’s Wichita Eagle featured an op-ed by Brad Beachy, who is co-chairman of Wichita Democracy for America. Several of the claims made by Beachy deserve examination. In particular, Beachy blames free markets as the cause of our current economic problems: “The Great Recession we’re in now started in late 2007, after several years of…
-
An inept Kansas smoking analogy
In today’s letter in the Eagle, Claycomb says that although the United States Constitution gives us the right to bear arms, since that right is heavily regulated, government has license to regulate smoking, as smoking isn’t mentioned at all in the Constitution.
-
It’s not the same as pee in the swimming pool
In a column in the February 27, 2008 Wichita Eagle (“Smoking ban issue not one to negotiate”), columnist Mark McCormick quotes Charlie Claycomb, co-chair of Tobacco Free Wichita, as equating a smoking section in a restaurant with “a urinating section in a swimming pool.” This is a ridiculous comparison. A person can’t tell upon entering…
-
‘Economic Freedom and the Wealth and Health of Nations’ lecture to be in Wichita
Do you know where the United States ranks on the global index of economic freedom? (Hint: It wouldn’t get a medal.) The answer is in the latest edition of the Economic Freedom of the World report. Dr. Robert Lawson of Auburn University is co-author of this popular and widely cited report. He will be the…
-
Government spending does not create prosperity
In his op-ed Don’t buy canard about spending, Alan Cobb of Americans for Prosperity writes about the illusion that government spending creates economic growth. It’s an important topic, as we’ve just been through nearly a year of Obama stimulus spending, and people are wondering if the effort has paid off. Locally in Kansas, spending advocates…
-
Don’t buy canard about spending
“Canard” is a funny word. It keeps popping into my head anytime I read another self-anointed do-gooder who claims that government spending leads to economic growth.
-
At Wichita city council, does the field tilt?
At the January 12 meeting of the Wichita City Council, several citizens and one council member addressed the “unlevel playing field” and its implications for development in downtown Wichita.
-
In Wichita, Free Market Economics 101 to be held
On Monday, the Wichita Chapter of Americans For Prosperity is holding an informative meeting to learn more about free market economics and its application.