Kansas Policy Institute

Wichita job growth
21
Sep
By Bob Weeks

Wichita job growth

Wichita economic development efforts viewed in context. Greater Wichita Partnership is the organization with primary responsibility for economic development in the Wichita area. Data provided by GWP shows that since 2004, GWP takes credit for creating an average 1,847 jobs per year through its economic development efforts. [1. Greater Wichita Partnership - 2017 Investment Request. Part of the February 15, 2017 Sedgwick County Commission meeting. Available at https://goo.gl/hk6RHB.] To determine whether this is an impressive amount, we need context. Over the past ten years the labor force for the Wichita MSA has averaged 314,877 each month (in May 2017 it…
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Deconstructing Don Hineman
06
Jul
By Bob Weeks

Deconstructing Don Hineman

Another Kansas legislator explains why raising taxes was necessary. So he says. Many members of the Kansas Legislature are writing pieces defending their decision to vote for higher taxes. Don Hineman is one. His explanation merits more than average attention, as he is the Majority Leader of the Kansas House of Representatives. This week the Topeka Capital-Journal published his op-ed Rep. Don Hineman: Why tax reform was necessary. It deserves comment. Hineman wrote: "This return to common sense tax policy resulted from legislators listening to their constituents and fulfilling the promises they made during 2016 campaigns." There may have been…
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WichitaLiberty.TV: James Franko, Kansas Policy Institute
09
Jun
By Bob Weeks

WichitaLiberty.TV: James Franko, Kansas Policy Institute

In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: James Franko of Kansas Policy Institute joins Bob Weeks and Karl Peterjohn. Topics are the new Kansas school finance bill and the new tax bill. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 153, broadcast June 11, 2017. Shownotes Kansas Policy Institute SB 19, the new school finance plan SB 30, the new tax bill Kansas Freedom Index Archives of voting indexes from Bob Weeks and Karl Peterjohn
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WichitaLiberty.TV: Kansas Policy Institute President Dave Trabert
28
Apr
By Bob Weeks

WichitaLiberty.TV: Kansas Policy Institute President Dave Trabert

In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: Kansas Policy Institute Dave Trabert joins Bob Weeks and Karl Peterjohn to discuss the Kansas economy, budget, and schools. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 149, broadcast April 30, 2017. Shownotes Kansas Policy Institute The Sentinel: St. Francis Closing Is Medicaid Expansion Red Herring
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WichitaLiberty.TV: James Franko of Kansas Policy Institute
03
Mar
By Bob Weeks

WichitaLiberty.TV: James Franko of Kansas Policy Institute

In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: James Franko of Kansas Policy Institute joins Bob Weeks and Karl Peterjohn to discuss education in Kansas and the state budget. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 141, broadcast March 5, 2017. Shownotes Kansas Policy Institute The Sentinel Urban Preparatory Academy
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Kansans say no to more taxes
10
Feb
By Bob Weeks

Kansans say no to more taxes

A statewide poll finds little support for raising taxes as a way to balance the Kansas budget. Kansas Policy Institute has commissioned another public opinion poll gauging the preferences of Kansans. The poll released this week asked questions about how to balance the budget in the current year and next year, raising the gasoline tax, schools, paying for Medicaid, and voting on local tax increases. In a press release announcing poll results, KPI president Dave Trabert noted, "Once again, scientific public opinion surveys show that special interests pushing for enormous, record-setting tax increases are completely out of step with the…
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Public education factbook for 2017
09
Feb
By Bob Weeks

Public education factbook for 2017

The fifth edition of data on public schools in Kansas is available. Kansas Policy Institute has released a new edition of its Public Education Fact Book. KPI describes this book: KPI’s fifth annual Public Education Fact Book is a one-stop shop for data on public school information from The Sunflower State. Numerous scientific surveys show that citizens are grossly misinformed on many pertinent facts of public education in Kansas. Aid and spending per-pupil are much higher than many Kansans believe, and student achievement is lower than understood. This fact book series aims to rectify this situation. This document is available…
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Understanding job growth and the Kansas tax reforms
13
Jan
By Bob Weeks

Understanding job growth and the Kansas tax reforms

Commissioned by Kansas Policy Institute and written by researchers from Arizona State University, a new report looks at the Kansas economy after the tax reforms passed in 2012. The full report is available to read at A thousand flowers blooming: Understanding job growth and the Kansas tax reforms. Following, material from its executive summary: Much of the discussion over economic growth following the 2012 Kansas tax reforms were enacted is misguided, hobbled by a misunderstanding of what the tax cuts were trying to accomplish and reliance on incomplete data. Additionally, it fails to take into account the fact that most…
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12
Jan
By Guest Author

Benefits of tax cuts without raising debt

Benefits of Tax Cuts Without Raising Debt President-elect Donald Trump should learn from Kansas’s mistake on income-tax reduction -- don’t reduce revenue and increase spending. By Dave Trabert, Kansas Policy Institute President-elect Donald Trump should learn from Kansas’s mistake on income-tax reduction: Don’t reduce revenue and increase spending. That’s the real problem with the Kansas budget (“Brownback Sees Kansas Tax Plan as Model for Nation,” U.S. News, Dec 24). There was never an expectation that spending wouldn’t have to be adjusted to accommodate revenue reductions, but Democrats and many Republicans refused to make government more efficient so spending and taxes…
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A Wichita school official talks about KPERS
09
Jan
By Bob Weeks

A Wichita school official talks about KPERS

A board member of the largest school district in Kansas repeated an untruth that has unfortunate consequences for Kansas schoolchildren. At a recent meeting of the Wichita Pachyderm Club Wichita school board member Sheril Logan participated in a panel discussion on local government legislative agenda. (The entire program may be accessed here.) She told the audience, "Truly, data can be maneuvered to make it look like what you want. We all know that. So can funding streams." She went on to explain that what happened in the "last couple of years" was, for example, KPERS funds being counted differently. What…
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