Free markets Archives - Page 4 of 50 Voice For Liberty

May

Are you in the top 1%?

Most Americans would be surprised to learn that they are, in fact, in the top one percent of income -- when the entire world is considered. It is economic freedom in America that has been responsible for this high standard of living. But America's ranking among the countries in economic freedom has declined, and may fall further. View the 60-second video at Economic Freedom in 60 Seconds, or click below.

More government spending is not a source of prosperity

Apr

By Bob Weeks

More government spending is not a source of prosperity

Kansas needs to trim state government spending so that its economy may grow by harnessing the benefits of the private sector over government. In the debate over how to balance the Kansas budget, those who oppose low state taxes say the burden of taxation is simply transferred to other sources, usually in the form of sales and property taxes. Cutting spending is the other possibility, but it is argued that state spending is a good thing, a source of prosperity that Kansas should exploit. The idea that government spending is a generator of wealth and prosperity is true for only…

Mar

By Bob Weeks

A Wichita Shocker, redux

Based on events in Wichita, the Wall Street Journal wrote "What Americans seem to want most from government these days is equal treatment. They increasingly realize that powerful government nearly always helps the powerful ..." But Wichita's elites don't seem to understand this. Three years ago from today the Wall Street Journal noted something it thought remarkable: a "voter revolt" in Wichita. Citizens overturned a decision by the Wichita City Council regarding an economic development incentive awarded to a downtown hotel. It was the ninth layer of subsidy for the hotel, and because of our laws, it was the only…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

What we can learn from the piano

The purchase of a piano by a Kansas school district teaches us a lesson. Instead of a system in which schools raise money voluntarily -- a system in which customers are happy to buy, donors are happy to give, and schools are grateful to receive -- we have strife. A Kansas City, Kansas school has spent $48,000 to purchase a new piano, replacing one in use for many years. Critics of school spending, even Governor Brownback, point to this as an example of school spending out of control. How can schools want more money, they say, if one school can…

Making Wichita an inclusive and attractive community

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Making Wichita an inclusive and attractive community

There are things both easy and difficult Wichita could do to make the city inclusive and welcoming of all, especially the young and diverse. In its questionnaire for candidates for Wichita mayor and city council, the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce asked this: "How will you work to make Wichita an inclusive community where all will feel welcome, particularly the young and diverse talent we need to help attract more young and diverse talent?" There are a few very easy things Wichita could do to appeal to millennials -- I think that is one of the groups the Chamber addresses…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Year in Review: 2014

Here is a sampling of stories from Voice for Liberty in 2014. January A transparency agenda for Wichita Kansas has a weak open records law, and Wichita doesn’t want to follow the law, as weak as it is. But with a simple change of attitude towards open government and citizens’ right to know, Wichita could live up to the goals its leaders have set. New York Times on Kansas schools, again The New York Times -- again -- intervenes in Kansas schools. As it did last October, the newspaper makes serious errors in its facts and recommendations. Visit Wichita, and…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Myth: Markets promote greed and selfishness

When thinking about the difference between government action and action taken by free people trading freely in markets, many myths abound. Tom G. Palmer has written an important paper that confronts these myths about markets. The second myth -- Markets Promote Greed and Selfishness -- and Palmer's refutation is below. The complete series of myths and responses is at Twenty Myths about Markets. Palmer is editor of the recent books for Students for Liberty: The Morality of Capitalism, After the Welfare State, Why Liberty, and Peace, Love & Liberty. Myth: Markets promote greed and selfishness Myth: People in markets are…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Kansas ‘Green Book’ released

Kansas Policy Institute has published a book exploring the relationship between the size of government and economic growth. To introduce its book of economic statistics for Kansas and the nation, Kansas Policy Institute writes: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis saw states as “laboratories of democracy” conducting “experiments” in public policy. Today, more than eight decades after Brandeis coined the phrase, state experimentation with tax policy makes it abundantly clear that tax policy has a direct impact on economic growth. As shown on page 19, each of the eleven states that enacted an income tax since 1960 now has a…

Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce: What is the attitude towards taxes?

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce: What is the attitude towards taxes?

Does the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce support free markets, capitalism, and economic freedom, or something else? Very often, local chambers of commerce support crony capitalism instead of pro-growth policies that allow free enterprise and genuine capitalism to flourish. We saw this in Wichita this year, where the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce campaigned for a sales tax increase. The Chamber recommended that Wichitans vote in favor of a sales tax of one cent per dollar, with some of the proceeds to be dedicated for a jobs fund. (Other uses were to be for a new water supply, expanded bus…

WichitaLiberty.TV: Wichita’s legislative agenda, and a bit of bad news

Dec

By Bob Weeks

WichitaLiberty.TV: Wichita’s legislative agenda, and a bit of bad news

In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: A look at some elements of Wichita’s legislative agenda for state government, in particular special tax treatment for special artists, problems with the city’s numbers regarding airfares, and why we should abandon the pursuit of passenger rail. Then, why are people not more involved in political affairs? View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 67, broadcast December 7, 2014.