KPERS Archives - Voice For Liberty

Jun

Decoding Duane Goossen

When reading the writings of former Kansas State Budget Director Duane Goossen, it's useful to have a guide grounded in reality. In a look back at the Kansas Legislature this year, former state budget director Duane Goossen has a few opinions. Here are a few, as appeared in the Wichita Eagle, and some counter arguments. "Kansans, we are done being kicked around." No, Kansans are just starting to be kicked around even harder. That's what higher taxes represent. "We became famous, the poster state for bad tax policy." No, Kansas became the poster state for bad spending policy. Our legislature…

May

By Bob Weeks

Explaining the Kansas budget, in a way

A video explaining the Kansas budget is accurate in many aspects, but portrays a false and harmful myth regarding school spending. A popular video explaining the Kansas budget deserves scrutiny for some of the data presented. The video is available at the Facebook page of Loud Light. The presentation makes a few good points. For example, the video is correct in that the sales tax is a regressive tax, affecting low-income households in greater proportion. During the capaign for a Wichita city sales tax in 2014 I analyzed Census Bureau data and found that the lowest income class of families…

Mar

By Bob Weeks

Wichita student/teacher ratios

Despite years of purported budget cuts, the Wichita public school district has been able to improve or maintain student/teacher ratios. When discussing school funding, there is controversy over how spending should be measured. What funds are included? Is KPERS included? Should we adjust for enrollment and inflation? What about bond and interest funds and capital outlay? The largest expenditures of schools -- some 80 percent nationwide -- is personnel costs. In Kansas, and Wichita in particular, we're told that budget cuts are causing school class sizes to increase. When we look at numbers, we see that the Wichita school district…

WichitaLiberty.TV: Blight, guns, testimony, and KPERS

Feb

By Bob Weeks

WichitaLiberty.TV: Blight, guns, testimony, and KPERS

In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: Co-host Karl Peterjohn joins Bob Weeks to discuss the fight on blight and property rights, guns on campus, availability of testimony in the Kansas Legislature, and KPERS, our state’s retirement system. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 137, broadcast February 5, 2017. Shownotes Article: In Kansas, the war on blight continues Article: Availability of testimony in the Kansas Legislature Article: Again, KPERS shows why public pension reform is essential

Again, KPERS shows why public pension reform is essential

Jan

By Bob Weeks

Again, KPERS shows why public pension reform is essential

Proposals in the Kansas budget for fiscal year 2018 are more evidence of why defined-benefit pension plans are incompatible with the public sector. Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has proposed delays in funding KPERS, the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System. The delays are in both directions. The state intends to break a past promise to pay, and also to skip some future payments. A memo from KPERS summarizes recent history and the proposed changes: "Last fiscal year, the State delayed its fourth quarter payment for School employer contributions with a promise to pay it in Fiscal Year 2018 with interest. The…

A Wichita school official talks about KPERS

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…

Jan

By Bob Weeks

No one is stealing* from KPERS

No one is stealing from KPERS, the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System. But there are related problems. You don't have to look for long on Facebook before you'll find comments like these regarding KPERS, the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System: "This is BS. Stupid Brownback robbed our pension plan; we have no real confidence that it will ever be paid back. Why don't we have some kind of safety measure in place to prevent governors like him from stealing from us?" "If the governor would keep his greedy hands off of the KPERS money that is there, we might not…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Year in Review: 2016

Here are highlights from Voice for Liberty for 2016. Was it a good year for the principles of individual liberty, limited government, economic freedom, and free markets in Wichita and Kansas? Also be sure to view the programs on WichitaLiberty.TV for guests like journalist, novelist, and blogger Bud Norman; Radio talk show host Joseph Ashby; David Bobb, President of Bill of Rights Institute; Heritage Foundation trade expert Bryan Riley; Radio talk show host Andy Hooser; Keen Umbehr; John Chisholm on entrepreneurship; James Rosebush, author of "True Reagan," Jonathan Williams of American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC); Gidget Southway, or Danedri Herbert;…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

State pension cronyism

A new report details the way state pension funds harm workers and taxpayers through cronyism. Updated to accurately reflect the time period of the targeted investments. American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has released a report detailing the various ways state employee pension funds are harmed by cronyism. The report may be read at Keeping the Promise: Getting Politics Out of Pensions. The problem, ALEC reports, is: "Unfortunately, many lawmakers and pension plan officials have other priorities besides doing what is best for workers. They see the billions of pension fund dollars they manage as an opportunity to advance their own…

Gary Sherrer and Kansas Policy Institute

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Gary Sherrer and Kansas Policy Institute

A former Kansas government official criticizes Kansas Policy Institute. I wouldn't normally use a Facebook comment in a public way, but the comment was left in public, to a post on my Facebook profile. Plus, the writer is a former Kansas government official. He's Gary Sherrer, who has been Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of Commerce, and Chair of the Kansas Board of Regents. Sherrer had criticized the truthfulness of Kansas Policy Institute, claiming he "could write an essay" on his criticism of KPI. Upon my suggestion for him to do so, he offered two criticisms. First, Sherrer wrote this: "They count…