Kansas state government Archives - Page 153 of 159 Voice For Liberty

Apr

Kansas Judiciary Gets National Criticism

Kansas Judiciary Gets National Criticism Karl Peterjohn, Kansas Taxpayers Network The school finance litigation began in the 1980's in Kansas and has continued and expanded in the 21st Century. The first lawsuit was tragic, but now Kansas is becoming a judicial joke, albeit a very expensive demonstration of judicial activism and contempt for the democratic principles that are the foundation for not only this state, but for this republic. Kansas is now getting negative national attention created by the judicial activism coming from the Kansas Supreme Court. Kansas is not alone in judicial activism but the attention focused upon the…

Apr

Is Kansas Competitive?

Is Kansas Competitive? Karl Peterjohn, Kansas Taxpayers Network Is the Kansas economy competitive? State revenues are growing and Governor Sebelius and other state spending proponents are promoting a consultant's report that ranks Kansas as 10th for "Pro Business States for 2006," according to Pollina Corporate Real Estate, Inc. consulting service. This was a big jump for Kansas in this rating due to the state scoring a middling 23rd in the first survey released in 2004. This is an important issue as Kansas spending and ultimately tax issues remain unresolved and the blacked robed legislators on the Kansas Supreme Court await…

Apr

By Bob Weeks

Consider carefully all costs of gambling in Wichita

Writing from Miami, Florida In a free society dedicated to personal liberty, people should be able to gamble. But that's not what we have, as in a free society dedicated to personal liberty, people wouldn't be taxed to pay for the problems that others cause in the pursuit of their happiness. How does this relate to the issue of casino gambling in Wichita and Kansas? There is a document titled "Economic & Social Impact Anlaysis [sic] For A Proposed Casino & Hotel" created by GVA Marquette Advisors for the Wichita Downtown Development Corporation and the Greater Wichita Convention and Visitors…

Mar

By Bob Weeks

Senate spending spree blows roof off Kansas capitol

Thank you to Karl Peterjohn, Kansas Taxpayers Network, for this fine article containing information we don't see in our state's newspapers. Why is information like this important to our liberty? It's because much of what our state spends consists of simply taking the property of one person and giving it to someone else. Add to that the fact that much of this spending is on public schools, that our government leaders firmly refuse to allow us choice in schools (vouchers), this spending (and resultant taxation) amounts to a huge assault on liberty, our freedoms, and our wealth. Senate spending spree…

Mar

By Bob Weeks

State of Kansas vs. Students

Thank you to Karl Peterjohn, Kansas Taxpayers Network, for this fine article. It would be a different matter if all this spending produced results. There is no reason to believe that increased spending on schools will do much to improve the lot of the average Kansas child. Sadly, this increased spending lets politicians, education bureaucrats, and school boards claim victory "for the children." The needed reforms are put off for another year. Alan Rupe, have you no shame? Do you really believe you are doing the right thing for Kansas children, or are you only looking to earn a legal…

Mar

By Bob Weeks

Report From the Kansas Statehouse, March 9, 2006

Thank you to Karl Peterjohn, Kansas Taxpayers Network, for this report on happenings in Topeka. The Kansas senate surrendered their ability to rein the activist Sebelius and leftist dominated Kansas Supreme Court Thursday afternoon. A constitutional amendment to require senate confirmation of judges barely received a majority vote Thursday afternoon as a coalition of most senate Democrats and the Senate GOP leadership of Senate President Steve Morris and Vice President John Vratil succeeded in killing this constitutional amendment that needed a 2/3 or 27 votes to pass and move to the house. The odious nature of this defeat was that…

Mar

By Bob Weeks

Eminent domain testimony

Thank you to John Todd for this testimony on this threat to liberty, and for traveling to Topeka to deliver it. To: Members of the House Federal and State Committee, March 6, 2006 hearing. Subject: Testimony in Support for the passage of House Concurrent Resolution No. 5025; conditional Support for the passage of House Concurrent Resolution No. 5040; and unconditional Support for the passage of Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 1616; all involving Eminent Domain reform. I am a real estate broker and land developer in Sedgwick County, and a Volunteer Coordinator for Americans For Prosperity, and a member of the…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

The “Free” Kansas Lottery Proceeds

An article titled "Nothing's Free" by Russell Roberts, published in The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty http://www.fee.org/publications/the-freeman/article.asp?aid=4419 explains that even though we might be accustomed to thinking that the state's proceeds from taxes like those on the Kansas Lottery are "free," this is not at all the case. As Mr. Roberts explains: About 55 percent of the receipts go to prizes, 10 percent to expenses, and 35 percent to education or some similar unimpeachable cause. Because 35 percent goes to neither winners nor losers, the real cost of the lottery is that you win less often and the prizes are smaller…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Kansas Families United for Public Education (KFUPE) on state aid to schools

As of today (February 2, 2006), the website for Kansas Families United for Public Education (KFUPE) (located at http://fundourpublicschools.com) states, under the heading "The Crisis": "State aid has failed to keep pace with inflation." I was puzzled by this statement, as I thought we were spending more and more on education each year. So I decided to investigate. The Kansas State Department of Education has a table of recent education expenditures in Kansas. The data is located at http://www.ksde.org/leaf/data_warehouse/total_expenditures/d0Stateexp.pdf. Here is the table of spending data: Spending in Nominal Dollars Total Spending Per Student School FTE* State Federal Local Total…

Jan

By Bob Weeks

John Todd on Eminent Domain in Kansas

To: The Kansas House/Senate Joint Committee on Economic Development. Subject: Testimony Regarding Eminent Domain at the October 11, 2005 hearing. My name is John Todd. I am a real estate broker and land developer from Wichita. I support the proposition to amend article 15 of the constitution of the state of Kansas by adding a new section thereto, concerning eminent domain as follows: "Private property shall not be taken except for public use, and private property shall not be taken without just compensation. The taking of private property with the intent to or in anticipation of selling, leasing or otherwise…