Tag: Subsidy
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No Kansas subsidy to Northern Flyer
When it comes to government money, there’s no shortage of people who have ideas on how to spend it. One group that has grand ideas of how government should spend your money is the Northern Flyer Alliance. This group promotes passenger train service in our area. Currently they’re promoting extension of rail service from Oklahoma…
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End Taxpayer-Funded Competition Between the States
A Wichita Eagle story (Development speaker touts power of cash) reports on an economic incentive expert’s evaluation of our state’s effort. (It’s revealing to learn that an accounting firm has someone with the title “regional leader of credits and incentives,” whose duty, evidently, it is to help companies figure out which state’s incentives are most…
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Bailouts National and Local
A post at the Wichita Eagle Editorial blog titled Either way, taxpayers will pay for failing GM illustrates how when government and business become highly intertwined, a self-sustaining behemoth is created that can’t be slain. We say an example of this locally this year in Wichita, when a taxpayer subsidy to a development turned out…
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What? Wichita’s Air Service Subsidy Isn’t Working?
Recently a travel and tourism expert visited Wichita and said (and I hesitate to repeat his exact words on this family-oriented blog) “Your air service sucks.” (See Tourism expert has frank tips for Kansas.) I’m more than a little distressed to hear that. Right now we spend $6.5 million per year in subsidy to low-cost…
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Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer’s Reformulated TIF Plan Still a Bad Idea
Today the Wichita City Council holds a special meeting to consider a reformulated plan to provide tax increment financing (TIF) for the area surrounding the downtown Wichita arena. It’s still a bad idea. It appears there are two major changes in the new plan. First, the TIF district is smaller. Second, spending on the district…
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City Council divvies up tax dollars for the arts
A Wichita Eagle news story today tells how City Council divvies up tax dollars for the arts. Can you imagine sitting through these meetings with people like Joan Cole and other members of the Arts Council as they decide who gets — and who doesn’t get — government largesse? I imagine that these people actually…
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Does Kansas Economic Development Work?
A commentary by AFP’s Alan Cobb (Yes, but it’s only $1.3 billion) reports that Kansas economic development efforts are not working. Can the same be said about Wichita’s?
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Are airlines pilots the best judge of airline economics?
I’m not positive about this, but I’m sure that the demand for air travel between Wichita and Oklahoma City is very low. Google maps tells me that the driving time from one city’s downtown to the other is two hours and 30 minutes. The drive to a city’s airport, arriving way early to make sure…
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Wind Power: Why Special Tax Treatment?
A recent article in USA Today (Renewable energy firms clamor for tax breaks) reports on the uncertainty of whether the U.S. Congress will extend the tax credits that subsidize solar and wind power investment. From the article: Some $500 million in investment and production tax credits will expire Dec. 31 unless Congress renews them. Without…