Voice For Liberty

Tag: Wichita city council

  • Because arts are important, government funding should be avoided

    Yesterday’s forum of Wichita City Council and mayoral candidates that focused on the arts found broad agreement among candidates and incumbents for continued funding of the arts by Wichita city government, according to Wichita Eagle reporting.

    The city has a dedicated one mill property tax levy dedicated to arts funding, and it generates about $3 million per year. Then a commission decides how to distribute the funds. This taxation and spending is said to be good for Wichita’s economy. But every special interest group produces economic impact studies that show that government spending on their projects has a magical “multiplier” effect that produces great amounts of wealth and prosperity. These are so commonly produced that they are meaningless. Every group that seeks public funds produces them.

    But besides this factor, there are very important reasons to keep government away from art. Lawrence W. Reed wrote in What’s Wrong with Government Funding of the Arts? of the harm of turning over responsibility to the government for things we value and find worthwhile:

    I can think of an endless list of desirable, enriching things in life, of which very few carry an automatic tag that says, “Must be provided by taxes and politicians.” Such things include good books, nice lawns, nutritious food, and smiling faces. A rich culture consists, as you know, of so many good things that have nothing to do with government, and thank God they don’t. We should seek to nurture those things privately and voluntarily because “private” and “voluntary” are key indicators that people are awake to them and believe in them. The surest way I know to sap the vitality of almost any worthwhile endeavor is to send a message that says, “You can slack off of that; the government will now do it.” That sort of “flight from responsibility,” frankly, is at the source of many societal ills today: many people don’t take care of their parents in their old age because a federal program will do it; others have abandoned their children because until recent welfare reforms, they’d get a bigger check if they did.

    The boosters of government arts funding in Kansas make the case that arts are important. Therefore, they say, government must be involved.

    But actually, the opposite is true. The more important to our culture we believe the arts to be, the stronger the case for getting government out of its funding. Here’s why. In a statement opposing the elimination of the Kansas Arts Commission, executive director Llewellyn Crain explained that “The Kansas Arts Commission provides valuable seed money that leverages private funds …”

    This “seed money” effect is precisely why government should not be funding arts. David Boaz explains:

    Defenders of arts funding seem blithely unaware of this danger when they praise the role of the national endowments as an imprimatur or seal of approval on artists and arts groups. Jane Alexander says, “The Federal role is small but very vital. We are a stimulus for leveraging state, local and private money. We are a linchpin for the puzzle of arts funding, a remarkably efficient way of stimulating private money.” Drama critic Robert Brustein asks, “How could the [National Endowment for the Arts] be ‘privatized’ and still retain its purpose as a funding agency functioning as a stamp of approval for deserving art?” … I suggest that that is just the kind of power no government in a free society should have.

    We give up a lot when we turn over this power to government bureaucrats and arts commission cronies.

    Facing an intense lobbying effort by those seeking taxpayer funds for their special interests, the Kansas Senate last week overturned Governor Sam Brownback‘s order eliminating the Kansas Arts Commission. The KAC must still be appropriated funds if it is to survive, and if appropriated, it faces a potential line item veto by the governor.

  • Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Monday March 21, 2011

    Wichita City Council this week. As it is the fourth Tuesday of the month, the Wichita City Council handles consent agenda items only and often has a workshop. Consent agenda items are thought by the agenda-builder to be non-controversial, and are voted on by the council as a group, unless a council member requests to pull an item for individual discussion and voting. … This week’s meeting will also feature the awarding of a key to the city to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback. Perhaps the governor will take a moment to comment on his economic development plan, which discourages the type of targeted incentives that Wichita relies on. … The agenda packet is at 03-22-2011 Council Agenda Packet.

    Government the problem. Rasmussen: “Ronald Reagan famously declared in his first inaugural address in January 1981 that ‘government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.’ Forty-six percent (46%) of Likely U.S. Voters tell us in a new national telephone survey that that policy position is held mostly by conservatives and 40% say Reagan’s view is shared by most Americans.” The poll finds “Just 19% of the Political Class believe Reagan’s view is shared by most Americans.” The political class is the minority of voters who believe in big government. Rasmussen says they “tend to trust political leaders more than the public at large and are far less skeptical about government.” The Wall Street Journal has more on this at Populism and the Political Class.

    Budget worse than thought. “The Congressional Budget Office on Friday released its analysis of President Obama’s 2012 budget proposal and found it does less to rein in deficits and the debt than the administration had estimated.” A large share of the blame is placed on the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts. See CBO: Obama budget worse than projected on 10-year deficit.

    Detroit turns schools over to charters. From Education Week: “The financially embattled Detroit school system has announced a controversial plan to turn nearly a third of the district’s 141 schools over to charter operators or education-management organizations by next school year. Officials say their only other option is to close dozens of low-performing schools. If the plan to hand 41 schools over to outside managers is approved by the school board, the 73,000-student Detroit district will be borrowing a page from the same playbook that a growing number of large urban districts seem to be using.” … The article notes that Philadelphia turned over seven schools to charter operators, and Los Angeles will turn over seven next year. Charter schools are funded by public money but operate largely outside the existing public school system. They usually have wide latitude in setting policies, and generally the teachers union is not involved. Not everyone thinks the plan will work, with one critic writing “Chartering schools is not a silver bullet that can solve the long-standing governance, financial, and academic issues that districts like Detroit face.” … Kansas has few charter schools as Kansas law is designed to ensure that few charters will be granted.

    The State and the Intellectuals. Murray N. Rothbard asks the question “Why do people obey the edicts and depredations of the ruling elite?” and provides the answer. From For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto: The answer is that, since the early origins of the State, its rulers have always turned, as a necessary bolster to their rule, to an alliance with society’s class of intellectuals. The masses do not create their own abstract ideas, or indeed think through these ideas independently; they follow passively the ideas adopted and promulgated by the body of intellectuals, who become the effective “opinion moulders” in society. And since it is precisely a moulding of opinion on behalf of the rulers that the State almost desperately needs, this forms a firm basis for the age-old alliance of the intellectuals and the ruling classes of the State. The alliance is based on a quid pro quo: on the one hand, the intellectuals spread among the masses the idea that the State and its rulers are wise, good, sometimes divine, and at the very least inevitable and better than any conceivable alternatives. In return for this panoply of ideology, the State incorporates the intellectuals as part of the ruling elite, granting them power, status, prestige, and material security. Furthermore, intellectuals are needed to staff the bureaucracy and to “plan” the economy and society. … In the modern era, when theocratic arguments have lost much of their lustre among the public, the intellectuals have posed as the scientific cadre of “experts” and have been busy informing the hapless public that political affairs, foreign and domestic, are much too complex for the average person to bother his head about. Only the State and its corps of intellectual experts, planners, scientists, economists, and “national security managers” can possibly hope to deal with these problems. The role of the masses, even in “democracies,” is to ratify and assent to the decisions of their knowledgeable rulers.

    Global warming panic explained. A liberal tries to explain why she thinks the world will end, and what should be done about it. From Battlefield315.

  • TIF, a Wichita ‘tool,’ might be on the way out in California

    In the Wall Street Journal, Steven Greenhut writes about California’s redevelopment agencies, which are very similar to tax increment financing districts (TIF) in Kansas. California governor Jerry Brown has proposed ending these agencies. Local government officials, who are beneficiaries of the agencies, are pushing back. A controller’s report in California finds that the agencies are a “source of waste and governmental abuse — not a generator of jobs and economic growth.” This is consistent with other economic research on TIF districts.

    Greenhut correctly diagnosis the problem with these agencies or districts: “Redevelopment has attracted the Brown administration’s attention for an obvious reason: The more aggressive cities have become in using this ‘tool,’ the more they divert tax dollars from traditional public services like schools, fire-fighting and police services.” The use of the term “tool” evokes the rhetoric of Wichita city council members, who are wishing for more “tools in the toolbox.”

    As part of its approval of the Goody Clancy plan for the revitalization of downtown Wichita, Susan Estes asked the city council to formally disavow the use of eminent domain for the purposes of transferring property from one person to another. While the city says it does not intend to use the power of eminent domain for this purpose, the reluctance of the council to add this provision to the plan means that it is held in reserve. Mayor Carl Brewer believes it is “one of the tools that is available to the city.” And when perceived to be needed, the power of eminent domain is usually too powerful to resist.

    TIF district money is expected to be a key component of the public financing contribution to downtown Wichita redevelopment.

    Greenhut concludes: “While economic development and local control are crucial issues, it’s hard to understand why any Republican would believe that a regime of government planning and subsidy is the best way to achieve those goals. They should be standing up against the abuses of property rights and the fiscal irresponsibility inherent in the redevelopment process and championing market-based alternatives to urban improvement — even if it means defending a proposal from a Democratic governor they often disagree with.” Or here in Wichita, a liberal Democratic mayor who champions the centralized government planning of the Wichita Downtown Development Corporation.

    Greenhut’s most recent book is Plunder: How Public Employee Unions are Raiding Treasuries, Controlling Our Lives and Bankrupting the Nation.

    Jerry Brown’s Good Deed Gets Punished

    California’s governor wants to close his state’s redevelopment agencies, which abuse property rights and breed dependency among city governments.

    By Steven Greenhut

    Forced to choose between funding public schools and subsidizing ritzy golf courses, many California officials prefer the latter. That’s become painfully clear in the past few weeks as Golden State politicians have fiercely opposed Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to shave $1.7 billion from the state’s budget deficit by shuttering California’s 400 redevelopment agencies.

    The roots of this story go back to 1945, when the California legislature allowed cities and counties to form these redevelopment agencies. Their purpose, at least in theory, was to fight urban blight. Once public officials deem an area blighted, redevelopment agencies can use eminent domain to clear old properties and sell bonds to pay for improvements.

    To pay off the bonds, the agencies gobble up any subsequent increase in tax revenue — what the state calls the “tax increment.” In addition, a portion of the sales taxes generated by the new retail and commercial centers go into city, not state, coffers. That’s the main reason redevelopment agencies are popular among local politicians, Republican and Democratic alike. (Plus, they allow pols to reward favored corporations and developers.)

    Continue reading at the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) or Pacific Research Institute (no subscription required).

  • Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Sunday March 13, 2011

    Wichita city council this week. There is no meeting of the Wichita City Council this week, as most members will be attending a meeting of the National League of Cities in Washington, DC. These conferences are designed to help council members be more effective. But for three of the council members that will be attending, their future service on the council is measured in days, not years. These three lame duck members — Sue Schlapp, Paul Gray, and Roger Smith — will be leaving the council in April when their terms end. Their participation in this conference, at taxpayer expense, is nothing more than a junket — for lame ducks.

    How attitudes can differ. At a recent forum of city council candidates, one candidate mentioned the five or six police officers conducting security screening of visitors seeking to enter Wichita city hall, recognizing that this doesn’t create a welcoming atmosphere for citizens. Vice Mayor Jeff Longwell said he thought the officers are “accommodating and welcoming.” It should be noted that Longwell carries a card that allows him to effortlessly enter city hall through turnstiles that bypass the screening that citizens endure. Further, it’s natural that the police officers are deferential to Longwell, just as most employees are to their bosses. … This attitude of Longwell is an example of just how removed elected officials can be from the citizens — and reality, too. Coupled with the closing of the city hall parking garage to citizens and the junket for lame ducks described above, the people of Wichita sense city hall elected officials and bureaucrats becoming increasingly removed from the concerns of the average person.

    Private property and the price system. In The Science of Success, Charles Koch succinctly explains the importance of private property and prices to market economies and prosperity, how government planning can’t benefit from these factors, and the tragedy of the commons: “Private property is essential for both a market economy and prosperity. There cannot be a market economy without private property, and a society without private property cannot have prosperity. To ensure ongoing innovation in satisfying people’s needs, there must be a robust and evolving system of private property rights. Without a market system based on private property, no one can know how to effectively allocate resources. This is because they lack the information that comes from market prices. Those prices depend on voluntary exchanges by owners of private property. Prices and the resulting profit and loss guide entrepreneurs toward satisfying the needs of consumers. Through this system, consumers are able to direct entrepreneurs in efficiently allocating resources through knowledge and incentives in a way no central authority can. … The biggest problems in society have occurred in those areas thought to be best controlled in common: the atmosphere, bodies of water, air, streets, the body politic and human virtue. They all reflect aspects of the ‘tragedy of the commons’ and function much better when methods are devised to give them characteristics of private property.”

    Toward a free market in education. From The Objective Standard: “More and more Americans are coming to recognize the superiority of private schools over government-run or ‘public’ schools. Accordingly, many Americans are looking for ways to transform our government-laden education system into a thriving free market. As the laws of economics dictate, and as the better economists have demonstrated, under a free market the quality of education would soar, the range of options would expand, competition would abound, and prices would plummet. The question is: How do we get there from here?” Read more at Toward a Free Market in Education: School Vouchers or Tax Credits?. … This week in Kansas a committee will hold a hearing on HB 2367, known as the Kansas Education Liberty Act. This bill would implement a system of tax credits to support school choice, much like explained in the article.

    Are lottery tickets like a state-owned casino? This week a committee in the Kansas House of Representatives will hear testimony regarding HB 2340, which would, according to its fiscal note, “exempt from the statewide smoking ban any bar that is authorized to sell lottery tickets under the Kansas Lottery Act.” The reasoning is that since the statewide smoking ban doesn’t apply to casinos because it would lessen revenue flowing to the state from gaming, the state ought to allow smoking where lottery tickets are sold, as they too generate revenue for the state.

    Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve. This month’s meeting of the Wichita chapter of Americans for Prosperity, Kansas features a DVD presentation from the Ludwig von Mises Institute titled “Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve.” About the presentation: “Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson understood “The Monster.” But to most Americans today, Federal Reserve is just a name on the dollar bill. They have no idea of what the central bank does to the economy, or to their own economic lives; of how and why it was founded and operates; or of the sound money and banking that could end the statism, inflation, and business cycles that the Fed generates.” The event is Monday (March 14) at 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at the Lionel D. Alford Library located at 3447 S. Meridian in Wichita. The library is just north of the I-235 exit on Meridian. For more information on this event contact John Todd at john@johntodd.net or 316-312-7335, or Susan Estes, AFP Field Director at sestes@afphq.org or 316-681-4415.

    Wichita-area legislators to meet public. Saturday (March 19th) members of the South-Central Kansas Legislative Delegation will meet with the public. The meeting will be at Derby City Hall, 611 Mulberry Road (click for map), starting at 9:00 am. Generally these meetings last for two hours. Then on April 23 — right before the “wrap-up session” — there will be another meeting at the Wichita State University Hughes Metropolitan Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street (at Oliver).

    Pompeo to meet with public. If you don’t get your fill of politics for the day after the meeting with state legislators, come meet with United States Representative Mike Pompeo, who is just completing two months in office. Pompeo will be holding a town hall meeting at Maize City Hall, 10100 W. Grady (click for map) starting at 1:00 pm on Saturday March 19th.

    Losing the brains race. Veronique de Rugy writing in Reason: “In November the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released its Program for International Student Assessment scores, measuring educational achievement in 65 countries. The results are depressingly familiar: While students in many developed nations have been learning more and more over time, American 15-year-olds are stuck in the middle of the pack in many fundamental areas, including reading and math. Yet the United States is near the top in education spending.” … A solution is to introduce competition through markets in education: “Because of the lack of competition in the K–12 education system. Schooling in the United States is still based largely on residency; students remain tied to the neighborhood school regardless of how bad its performance may be. … With no need to convince students and parents to stay, schools in most districts lack the incentive to serve student needs or differentiate their product. To make matters worse, this lack of competition continues at the school level, where teacher hiring and firing decisions are stubbornly divorced from student performance, tied instead to funding levels and tenure.” The author notes that wealthy families already have school choice, as they can afford private schools or can afford to move to areas with public schools they think are better than the schools in most urban districts.

    Teachers unions explained. A supporter of the teachers unions is questioned about her belief that the unions need more money and power. In Kansas, the teachers union in the form of Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) and its affiliates consistently opposes any attempt at reform.

  • Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Wednesday March 9, 2011

    Kansas legislature website. It’s getting better, and now has — by my recollection — all the functionality of the site it replaced. But there are still some issues. The search feature uses a Google site-specific search, which is good in many ways. But trying to find if there’s any legislation this year concerning sales tax? Not so easy. … The rosters of members are displayed in panels of 12 members of a time. For the House there are 11 such panels. I wonder on which panel I’ll find the member I’m looking for? … Too many documents are still being delivered in OpenOffice doc format, which many people will not be able to use.

    Kansas smoking ban. The Hutchinson News has reported and editorialized on the statewide smoking ban. In Hutch club owner wants to see measure repealed, Sheila Martin expresses her concern for the small business owners who are being harmed by the smoking ban. The booklet Martin created that the article refers to may be read here Kansas Smoking Ban Booklet. Then the newspaper editorialized against the smoking ban, writing “Eight months since it took effect, the local jury is in on Kansas’ statewide smoking law. It has hurt sales at some drinking establishments — no doubt, in turn, hurting state and local sales tax receipts — and it was doubtful that it stopped anyone from smoking or saved many from exposure to secondhand smoke.”

    Fighting government secrecy. Announcing a television show regarding government transparency, the Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government writes: “Open government is essential to a democracy. But it’s often hard to find that vital government transparency — and to get public access to public records, even when the law is on your side. “What is your government hiding?” is the focus of a town hall panel set at 4:00 to 5:00 pm Saturday, March 12, at the First United Methodist Church, 330 N. Broadway, in downtown Wichita. The event will be taped and shown on KAKE-TV and affiliated stations around the state at 10 am Sunday, March 13, as part of the national celebration of Sunshine Week (March 13-19). … ‘The Mike and Mike Show’ will headline the meeting. Media attorney Mike Merriam of Topeka will join University of Kansas law professor Mike Kautsch in a interactive presentation on media law, as well as how citizens can use the Kansas Open Records Act and the Kansas Open Meetings Act. … The show also will feature a panel on the importance of open government led by the League of Women Voters of Wichita. The audience is invited to ask questions. Refreshments will be available at a reception afterward. …KPTS-TV, Channel 8 in Wichita, will rebroadcast the show at 7 pm, Thursday, March 24. Those interested are asked to arrive in time to be seated by 3:45 pm. The event is sponsored by the Kansas Sunshine Coalition, the LWV and the Elliott School of Communication at Wichita State University.

    Kansas judicial selection. The Wall Street Journal takes notice of the need for judicial selection reform in Kansas, writing “Kansas is the only state that gives the members of its bar a majority on the judicial nominating commission. That commission also handles the nominations for state Supreme Court justices, and changing that would require a state constitutional amendment. The Sunflower State is nonetheless off to a good start at making judicial appointments more than a preserve of the lawyers guild.” … Kansas University Law Professor Stephen J. Ware is the foremost authority on the method of judicial selection in Kansas and the need for reform. His paper on this topic is Selection to the Kansas Supreme Court, which is published by the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. Further reporting by me is at Kansas judicial selection needs reform, says law professor.

    Kansas Education Liberty Act. A strong school choice measure has been introduced in the Kansas House of Representatives. The bill is HB 2367 and may be read at the Kansas Legislature website. The measure’s supporters have a website at supportkela.com. From the bill’s supporters: “This bill authorizes specific non-profit organizations to grant scholarships to students to attend a qualified private or public school of their parents’ choice. These scholarships are funded through tax-credit eligible contributions from individual Kansans and corporations. State taxpayers will spend significantly less on each scholarship than they currently spend per pupil in public schools. This bill reduces education related spending from the state’s general fund and reduces the budget deficit. In addition, public schools will still have access to the majority of the federal and local taxpayer funding; so with each student who chooses another educational setting, public schools will have more funding per remaining student. Perhaps even more significant, our children will enjoy improved education outcomes in both public and private education in the state of Kansas with increased parental and community involvement.” … While the Kansas education establishment fiddles with “reforms” such as whether to grant tenure in three or five years, actual reform measures like this are what is needed.

    What … it’s not about the whales? “Environmental policy is not driven by tree-hugging activists, earnest liberal bloggers, or ecologically minded citizens. Instead, it flows from the lobbyists and executives of well-connected multinational corporations and built-for-subsidy startups that see profit in the loan guarantees, handouts, mandates, and tax credits Congress creates in the name of saving the planet.” Timothy P. Carney explains more in Meet the lobbyist who turns ‘green’ into greenbacks.

    Wichita council candidates. Now that the city primary election is over and each district has two candidates for the April 5 general election, this week’s meeting (March 11) of the Wichita Pachyderm Club features Wichita City Council candidates. Invited are from district 2: Pete Meitzner and Charlie Stevens. From district 4: Joshua Blick and Michael O’Donnell. From district 5: Jeff Longwell and Lynda Tyler. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend Wichita Pachyderm meetings. For more information click on Wichita Pachyderm Club.

    Common Sense — Revisited author in Wichita. Clyde Cleveland will visit Wichita to speak at the Holiday Inn at 549 S. Rock Road on Wednesday, March 16th at 7:00 pm. The event’s promotional poster reads: “Join Clyde Cleveland, the author of Common Sense — Revisited and 2002 libertarian candidate for Iowa Governor for an eye-opening presentation on our Government and how we can restore it to the Republic in its original form. Learn about Indigenous and Surrogate Powers, and how Americans have surrendered their ‘Sentient Power’. The good news is, we can peacefully, and lawfully, re-inhabit our Sovereign status and reclaim a bottom-up, ‘By, of, and For the People,’ Republic form of Government. … This is what was intended by our founding fathers, and for which many others have given their lives to protect. Following the presentation Clyde will discuss how we can participate in rebuilding our State and National Republics.” Cleveland’s website is Common Sense Revisited. He will also speak in Overland Park on March 17th.

  • Cabela’s CID should not be approved in Wichita

    This week outdoor retailer Cabela’s will ask the Wichita City Council to create a Community Improvement District (CID) for its benefit. Creating the CID would allow Cabela’s — the only store in the proposed CID — to collect tax of an additional 1.2 cents per dollar sales from customers. Proceeds of one cent per dollar, less a handling fee, will be given to Cabela’s for its exclusive use, with 0.2 cents per dollar to be used for street and highway improvements near the proposed CID.

    CIDs should be opposed as they turn over tax policy to the private sector. We should look at taxation as a way for government to raise funds to pay for services that all people benefit from. An example is police and fire protection. Even people who are opposed to taxation rationalize paying taxes that way.

    But CIDs turn tax policy over to the private sector for personal benefit. The money is collected under the pretense of government authority, but it is collected for the exclusive benefit of the owners of property in the CID.

    This is perhaps the worst aspect of CIDs. Landlord and merchants already have a way to generate revenue from their customers under free exchange: through the prices posted or advertised for their products, plus consumers’ awareness of the sales tax rates that prevail in a state, county, and city.

    But the most consumers will never be aware that they paid an extra tax for the exclusive benefit of the CID. (A bill working its way through the Kansas legislature may require detailing of sales taxes on cash register receipts.)

    The Wichita city council had a chance to provide transparency to shoppers by requiring merchants in CIDs to post signs informing shoppers of the amount of extra tax to be changed in the store. But CID advocates got the city council to back down from that requirement. CID advocates know how powerful information is, and they along with their allies on the city council realized that signage with disclosure would harm CID merchants. Council Member Sue Schlapp succinctly summarized the subterfuge that must accompany the CID tax when she said: “This is very simple: If you vote to have the tool, and then you vote to put something in it that makes the tool useless, it’s not even any point in having the vote, in my opinion.” She voted against the signage requirement.

    We should ask Cabela’s why their business model is so flimsy that allowing them to collect one percent additional from their customers makes the difference between feasibility and not. Cabela’s is notorious throughout the country for seeking all sorts of corporate welfare, and the CID is not likely to be the only subsidy the company seeks to extract from the city, county, school district, and/or state. It’s all in their business plan, as revealed in the company’s 2004 IPO filing: “Historically, we have been able to negotiate economic development arrangements relating to the construction of a number of our new destination retail stores, including free land, monetary grants and the recapture of incremental sales, property or other taxes through economic development bonds, with many local and state governments.”

    Cabela’s and its supporters note that part of the 1.2 cents per dollar extra tax to be charged will be used to improve the intersection at Greenwich and K-96. The need of an upgrade there should be questioned. A Cabela’s spokesman told the Wichita Eagle that easy access to the store from the highway is needed because shoppers “come in with the big pickups, the Rvs.” We should note that there exists a full-service intersection with traffic signals less than one mile from the Cabela’s site. For half of the distance, Greenwich road is three lanes in each direction.

    The proposed intersection can be viewed as an unnecessary public improvement — a sweetener to the deal — that doesn’t cost Cabela’s anything. Interestingly, the city’s adopted capital improvement plan for 2009 to 2018 contains “private contributions of $8.4 million for an interchange at K-96 and Greenwich Road.”

    We also have to recognize the harmful effect of a subsidy granted to one company on its competitors. In this case, the city’s response is likely to be “let the competitors apply for a CID.” This pressure — where merchants of all types see other merchants benefiting from the state collecting taxes for their own benefit — is leading to “CID sprawl,” a term coined by Susan Estes. This accurately represents the natural result of the irresistible urge of the CID: charging your customers more and blaming it on the government.

    In particular, a major competitor to Cabela’s is Gander Mountain in the downtown WaterWalk development. This store benefits from taxpayer subsidy, and if it were to close, Wichita taxpayers would be liable for bond payments. Further, the store is considered an anchor for the struggling development. A closed store surely would not be good for WaterWalk’s future.

    Finally, Lynda Tyler, who is running for city council against current council member and Vice Mayor Jeff Longwell, wrote this letter which appeared in the Wichita Eagle. The questions she raises deserve answers.

    Is Cabela’s revenue estimate accurate?

    On the surface, the community improvement district for Cabela’s seems pretty simple: Those who shop at the store will help pay for the store and the K-96 on-ramps through an extra sales tax. But look at the numbers.

    The Eagle reported that the CID is expected to generate $17.2 million over 22 years (Feb. 16 Business Today). That means it would generate an average of $781,818 per year. At 1.2 cents per dollar of sales, the Wichita store would have to have yearly sales of $65.1 million per year.

    Cabela’s does not release its per store sales numbers, but according to an Aug. 23, 2007, Barron’s article, Cabela’s averaged about $348 in sales per square foot. On an 80,000-square-foot store, that would be $27.8 million of sales per year. That is less than half of the amount estimated for the Wichita store.

    If we issue general obligation bonds and build the ramps based on an inflated number, it would be the taxpayer who stands to lose. If the city also issues revenue bonds based on the inflated numbers, there could be a disaster, too, if the store does $26 million instead of $65 million in sales.

  • Eastgate CID should not be approved in Wichita

    Tomorrow the Wichita City Council will decide whether to grant the owners of Eastgate shopping center a Community Improvement District (CID). Granting the CID would force the merchants in the district to collect tax of an additional one cent per dollar sales from customers. These proceeds, less a small handling fee, would then be given to the center’s owners.

    There are many reasons why the council should not form the CID. Perhaps the primary reason is that it lets property owners establish their own private taxing policy for their exclusive benefit. This goes against the grain of the way taxes are usually thought of. Generally, we use taxation as a way to pay for services that everyone benefits from, and from which we can’t exclude people. An example would be police protection. Everyone benefits from being safe, and we can’t exclude people from participating in — benefiting from — police protection.

    So when we pay property tax or sales tax, many are comforted knowing that much of it goes towards things like police and fire protection. (Of course, some is wasted, and government is not the only way these services, especially education, could be provided.)

    But CIDs allow taxes to be collected for the benefit of one specific entity. This goes against the principle of broad-based taxation to pay for an array of services for everyone. But in this case, the people who benefit from the CID are quite easy to identify: the property owners in the district.

    CID advocates and council members make the case that CID taxes are good for the economy. It’s just another tool. But it’s a tool that has to be tapped with a velvet hammer. When people are armed beforehand with knowledge of taxes, they may alter their behavior and not shop at merchants located with CIDs. The council’s refusal to require signage that lets shoppers easily know, in advance, of taxes they’ll be paying recognizes that fact.

    The council members should also be aware that when Wichitans have to spend more when shopping at certain merchants, it leaves less money to spend at other merchants.

    There one was a time when if landlords wanted to make improvements to their property, they would pay for it themselves. Or they might raise their rents. These days of private enterprise are coming to an end as government is used to accomplish what private transactions and agreements once did.

    As CIDs start to spread across Wichita, it’s likely the pace of requests for more will accelerate. After Eastgate spruces up, what are the owners of Towne East Square, located catty-corner, to do? Why wouldn’t they want their own CID too? And so it goes, on and on, until most of our major shopping districts are located within CIDs.

    In this way the city will have experienced a sales tax increase, except that the usual recipient of tax revenue won’t be receiving it. And the usual recipient — government — will still be hungry.

  • Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Sunday February 27, 2011

    Boeing tanker contract. While almost everyone in Kansas is celebrating the award of the air fueling tanker replacement contract to Boeing, there are a few reasons we shouldn’t over-celebrate. First, we bought an expensive war weapon. This is guns, not butter. President Dwight Eisenhower warned against the creation of a permanent armaments industry. Now our leaders celebrate defense spending as a jobs creation program, forgetting the opportunity costs of this spending. … In 2008, when the contract was awarded to the foreign company European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. (EADS) and Boeing successfully protested the award, the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal correctly analyzed the politics: “What’s really going on is a familiar scrum for federal cash, with politicians from Washington and Kansas using nationalism as cover for their pork-barreling.” The article correctly stated the goal of the contract: “The Pentagon’s job is to defend the country, which means letting contracts that best serve American soldiers and taxpayers, not certain companies.” Noting the aging fleet of tankers the contract would replace, and that the protest by Boeing would delay receiving them, the Journal concluded “Protectionists in Congress want to make America’s soldiers wait even longer for this new equipment, all to score political points at home. There’s a word for that, but it’s not patriotism.” … Of the contract awarded this week, the Journal wrote: “The military and Capitol Hill proved so good at fouling up this decade-long contest through political meddling, fake patriotism and sheer incompetence that a clean resolution may be near impossible.” Noting the international nature of manufacturing, the article wrote: “Boeing and Airbus each would have employed about 50,000 Americans to build up to 179 aerial refueling tankers.” Concluding: “The law tells the Defense Department to buy the best hardware at the best price on the global marketplace, regardless of any impact on domestic job creation. The fuel tanker debacle has undermined a competitive and open market for defense purchases free of political pressure. The losers are American taxpayers and soldiers.”

    Kansas Economic Freedom Index. This week I produced the first version of the Kansas Economic Freedom Index: Who votes for and against economic freedom in Kansas? for the 2011 legislative session. Currently I have a version only for the House of Representatives, as the Senate hasn’t made many votes that affect economic freedom. The index now has its own site, kansaseconomicfreedom.com.

    Elections this week. On Tuesday voters across Kansas will vote in city and school board primary elections. Well, at least a few will vote, as it is thought that only nine percent of eligible voters will actually vote. Many of those may have already voted by now, as advance voting is popular. For those who haven’t yet decided, here’s the Wichita Eagle voter guide.

    Civility is lost on the Wisconsin protesters. Lost not only in Wisconsin, but across the country, writes Michelle Malkin in Washington Examiner. “President Obama’s new era of civility was over before it began. You wouldn’t know it from reading The New York Times, watching Katie Couric or listening to the Democratic manners police. But America has been overrun by foul-mouthed, fist-clenching wildebeests. Yes, the Tea Party Movement is responsible — for sending these liberal goons into an insane rage, that is. After enduring two years of false smears as sexist, racist, homophobic barbarians, it is grassroots conservatives and taxpayer advocates who have been ceaselessly subjected to rhetorical projectile vomit. It is Obama’s rank-and-file “community organizers” on the streets fomenting the hate against their political enemies. Not the other way around.” … Malkin details the viciousness of some of the political activity across the country, some of which is especially demeaning to minorities — and women, as we’ve seen in Kansas this week.

    Help Wisconsin Governor Walker. Tim Phillips of Americans for Prosperity explains what’s happening in Wisconsin: “Governor Walker is simply repairing the Wisconsin budget by reining in the overly generous pension and benefits packages that are far beyond what people in the private sector receive. He’s also ending the government union collective bargaining that has been the chief reason why union benefits and pensions have gotten so out of control.” … Phillips recommends supporting Walker by signing a petition stating: “Union dues should be voluntary, and the state should not be in the business of collecting them. Union certification should require a secret ballot. Collective bargaining should not be used to force extravagant pension and health benefits that cripple state budgets. These common-sense reforms have made the union bosses desperate to disrupt Wisconsin government and overturn an election. They must not be allowed to succeed. In fact, every state should adopt Governor Scott Walker’s common sense reforms.” Click on Stand With Walker to express your support.

    Wichita city council. On Tuesday the Wichita City Council will take up these matters: First, the council will decide on a policy regarding soliciting charitable contributions at street intersections. Then, the council will decided whether to create a Community Improvement District for the Eastgate Shopping Center. While the council has enthusiastically granted other applicants this privilege of setting their own sales tax policy for their own benefit — and has voted against meaningful disclosure of this to potential shoppers — this CID may not pass. The Wichita Eagle has editorialized against this CID in particular — twice. Vice Mayor Jeff Longwell voted against accepting the petitions for this CID, although he did not explain his lone dissenting vote. … Then Chrome Plus, a manufacturer, seeks forgiveness from paying property taxes under the city’s Economic Development Exemption (EDX) Program. … In the consent agenda, the council will be asked to approve a payment of $235,000 to settle a lawsuit over “damages incurred in an accident between a Wichita Transit bus and a pedestrian in December 2008.”

  • Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Monday February 21, 2011

    Kansas legislature website. Over the weekend a new version of the website for the Kansas Legislature appeared. It has a new design over what’s been available for the last six weeks or so. It will take a while to shake out the new site, but here are a few observations: Finally, pdf documents are displayed in a standard — that is to say plain — method that should be usable on devices of all types. … Attempting a search produces a “page not found” error. … There is no mobile version that works on devices like an Iphone, which is a popular thing to have these days. … There is a link named “A/V Live” which is not active at this time, but points to the goal of having committee testimony broadcast on the website. Here’s a better idea: almost all conferees that testify before committees have written testimony that is provided to committee members. Make that testimony available to the people of Kansas. This could be done fairly easily — and inexpensively — and is more useful. … The Wichita Eagle has some reporting today about the troubles with the new site. But the biggest question is: why is this work being done during the legislative session? Why not do it from June through December when the legislature is not in session and demand for the site is less? Why wasn’t the old site left running while the new site was built?

    Legislators on Governor’s plan. At a meeting with Wichita-area legislators on Saturday, some spoke on Governor Brownback’s economic development plan. As with much of the news media, legislators seem mostly oriented on the reorganization of some agencies rather than the call for an end — or at least reduction — of targeted incentives and subsidies. Some legislators emphasized that we are competing with other states for jobs. It will be difficult for elected officials to give up the arms race of offering subsidy to companies to come to Kansas, or as we see in the Hawker Beechcraft deal, simply agree to remain in Kansas, even with a smaller number of jobs. … The governor’s plan still contains a slush fund for attracting jobs to Kansas, which should keep the big-government fans happy for a while.

    Could Wisconsin demonstrations come to Kansas? At the meeting with legislators, I asked if the demonstrations taking place in Wisconsin could be seen in Kansas. There, state employees are protesting the governor’s proposal to ask them to pay more for health insurance and pensions. Also proposed are measures that would reduce the power of the state workers union. Representative Jim Ward said: “I don’t think it would happen in Kansas.” While people in Kansas are passionate, we have a tradition of civility, he added. … The Kansas public employee retirement system is among the most underfunded and will probably require someone to pay more. The process of selecting who has to pay — employees or taxpayers — is likely to be contentious.

    Wichita trash. It seems likely that Wichitans will see another trash plan proposed, according to Wichita Eagle reporting. The urge by government bureaucrats like city manager Robert Layton to create a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist is compelling, it seems. While some Wichitans are paying much more than others for trash service, the publicity generated by the Eagle reporting has informed everyone as to how much trash service should cost. … Most candidates for city council seem to be against city involvement in trash service.

    Wichita mayoral forum didn’t go well. According to reporting from KWCH, a forum for candidates for Wichita mayor didn’t go well: “Wichita residents came to a political forum to listen to political issues, but left shaking their heads.” Continuing in the story: “Some say they weren’t impressed with incumbent Carl Brewer either. ‘The Mayor was just relying on his name and everyone else just had wild views,’ said one listener. ‘The Mayor basically knew he wasn’t going anywhere,’ said another listener. Onlookers say a meeting that was supposed to educate them on important issues, just left them with a bad feeling about the political future of Wichita. ‘They just proved why I shouldn’t vote for them in my opinion,’ said Graham.”

    Wichita City Council this week. The Wichita City Council will not meet this week, as it’s a Tuesday after a holiday. Most private sector workers might have trouble remembering there is a holiday today, but not so for the city council.

    Sedgwick County commission this week. At Wednesday’s meeting, the Sedgwick County Commission has several important items on its agenda. The commission will be asked to adopt Project Downtown: The Master Plan for Wichita, November 2010 as an amendment to the Wichita-Sedgwick County Comprehensive Plan. This is the plan for the revitalization of downtown Wichita prepared by planning firm Goody Clancy. This item is not a public hearing, and it is not known how much time commission chair Dave Unruh, who assumed that position in January, will allow for citizens to address the commission. Previous chairs Karl Peterjohn and Kelly Parks — as well as current Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer — always asked if citizens wanted to speak on an item and were generous with time allotted. … Also Jeremy Hill of Wichita State University Center for Economic Development and Business Research will make a presentation. CEDBR has been criticized for for a report it produced on the economic impact of the Affordable Airfares program. That report was produced before Hill started his tenure at CEDBR. … The appraiser will report on real estate valuation trends in Sedgwick County.