Progressives Archives - Page 2 of 3 Voice For Liberty

Oct

Kansas personal income grows

A recent spurt of growth of personal income in Kansas is welcome, considering the history of Kansas in this regard. Kansas personal income grew in the quarter ending in June, with the Wichita Business Journal reporting "Kansas ranked 14th among states for second-quarter personal income growth." The article also noted "According to data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, personal income grew by 1.7 percent in the second quarter of 2014, faster than the national growth rate of 1.5 percent." Strong growth in personal income is good. But strong growth is not the norm for Kansas. The nearby…

Sep

By Bob Weeks

Labor unions have harmed our standard of living

This Labor Day, as progressives promote their protection and advancement of workers, let's become aware of the harm that labor unions have caused. George Reisman summarizes: Far from being responsible for improvements in the standard of living of the average worker, labor unions operate in more or less total ignorance of what actually raises the average worker’s standard of living. In consequence of their ignorance, they are responsible for artificial inequalities in wage rates, for unemployment, and for holding down real wages and the average worker’s standard of living. All of these destructive, antisocial consequences derive from the fact that…

May

By Bob Weeks

Meet ALICE. Who knew?

Progressives criticize "bill mills," but the movement has its own. Criticism of policies based simply on their sources is a weak form of argument. But this is the substance of criticism leveled against ALEC, or American Legislative Exchange Council. Opponents of ALEC say it is a "bill mill" that "pushes" legislation upon unsuspecting state legislatures. Since the goal of ALEC, according to its website, is to "advance limited government, free markets, and federalism at the state level," it's good that legislators are being advised by an organization with these goals. There are, of course, forces on the other side that…

Apr

By Guest Author

CBPP misleading Kansans on revenue

From Kansas Policy Institute. Debunking CBPP on tax reform and school funding (Part 1) By Dave Trabert If Ronald Reagan were alive and saw the latest piece from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), he would say, “Well, there they go again ... not letting the facts get in the way of the story they want you to believe.” The premise of their March 27 piece is that “Kansas’ huge cuts have left ... schools and other public services stuck in the recession, and declining further -- a serious threat to the state’s long-term economic vitality.” That’s not…

After Gannon, will Kansas public school spending boosters still love courts and constitutions?

Mar

By Bob Weeks

After Gannon, will Kansas public school spending boosters still love courts and constitutions?

Will Kansas Progressives' expressed love for courts and constitutions hold up in light of the school finance decision? In January Paul Davis, a prominent Kansas Democrat and candidate for governor, tweeted "With the school ruling due any day now, will Brownback comply w/the court order or try & rewrite the KS constitution?" These words were followed by a link to Davis' website that copies an article from the New York Times. (That article has its own host of problems, explained in New York Times on Kansas schools, again and More about the New York Times on Kansas school finance.) This…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

The relevance of income tax rates

Jim Pinkerton, the journalist, Fox News contributor, and co-founder of the RATE (Reforming America’s Taxes Equitably) Coalition told an audience this: "The purpose of high taxes on the rich is not to get the rich to pay money, it's to get the middle class to feel better about paying high taxes." Pinkerton was speaking last week at a conference titled "The Tax & Regulatory Impact on Industry, Jobs & The Economy, and Consumers" produced by the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. His remarks, as he told the conference attendees, were based on the work of economist F.A. Hayek.…

The purpose of high tax rates on the rich

Feb

By Bob Weeks

The purpose of high tax rates on the rich

"The purpose of high taxes on the rich is not to get the rich to pay money, it's to get the middle class to feel better about paying high taxes." This is what Jim Pinkerton, the journalist, Fox News contributor, and co-founder of the RATE (Reforming America’s Taxes Equitably) Coalition told an audience at a conference titled "The Tax & Regulatory Impact on Industry, Jobs & The Economy, and Consumers" produced by the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. Pinkerton was referring to the economist F.A. Hayek. Others have also noted that changes to marginal tax rates often have…

Sep

By Bob Weeks

Kansas school test scores, a hidden story

We hear a lot about how Kansas shouldn't strive to become more like Texas, especially regarding schools. Defenders of high school spending in Kansas portray Texas as a backwater state with poor schools. This video takes a look at Kansas and Texas school test scores and reveals something that might surprise you. (Click here to view in high definition at YouTube.) Narrative explanation follows. Superficially, it looks like the Kansas school spending establishment has a valid point. Scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress, a test that is the same in all states, has Kansas scoring better than Texas…

Jul

By Bob Weeks

For Kansas progressives, it’s all about school spending, not performance

Once again, Kansans are subjected to a rant by Kansas House of Representatives Democratic Leader Paul Davis. On Facebook, he continually complains about the lack of funding for Kansas schools, recently writing "What do you think is more important: tax cuts for millionaires or funding for your local school?" Here are some concepts I wish Davis would explain to his Facebook fans. This might be good practice as he considers a run for the Kansas governorship. First, Kansas schools have increased employment. Second, Kansas schools don’t spend all the money they’ve been given, and the pile of unspent cash continues…

Jun

By Bob Weeks

Inside the progressive mindset

When I read this opening paragraph of a letter from the leaders of Media Matters, I double-checked that this wasn't a story from The Onion, the humorous and satirical news source: Five years ago, Media Matters was founded with a few staffers dedicated to a singular, and daunting, goal: restoring accountability and integrity to American journalism after both had been systematically eroded by decades of conservative attacks. Until then, no progressive organization had been solely dedicated to this crucial task, allowing the right-wing media machine to run roughshod over one of our democracy's most vital institutions. The consequences were obvious,…