Wichita, Kansas voters reject corporate welfare and cronyism

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From Americans for Prosperity, Kansas.

Tuesday, Kansas voters made a bold statement, rejecting a plan favoring cronyism and big government, instead choosing to take a stand for fiscal responsibility.

The Ambassador Hotel, which will receive $15 million in subsidies plus several hundred thousand annually, wanted to keep 75 percent of the guest tax they charged patrons, amounting to roughly $2.25 million in guest tax revenues over the next 15 years. The guest tax is a tax charged at Wichita hotels, otherwise used to promote convention and tourism.

This proposed guest tax subsidy was put to a vote, a plan which voters rejected by a 61 to 39 margin.

“The Ambassador Hotel guest tax subsidy was a prime example of political cronyism,” said Derrick Sontag, State Director of AFP-KS. “We were glad to see that voters made the right decision when presented with the facts about just how much public funding this development is receiving.”

“The vote shows that taxpayers recognize the problems with corporate welfare and are willing to take a stand for fiscal responsibility,” Sontag said. “This victory is just one small step towards more responsible government.”

Opponents of the tax subsidy recognize that government’s job is not to pick winners and losers, and AFP applauds those in Wichita who made their voices heard in support of limited government and the free market.

Comments

2 responses to “Wichita, Kansas voters reject corporate welfare and cronyism”

  1. Ann H.

    Woohoo! Now if only we could vote down crony capitalism more often! Unfortunately it’s really hard to root out the crony capitalists at any level of government because they keep promising so much to the electorate.

    I had gotten several personal phone calls and slick pieces of mail from the vote yes side, so I was a little pessimistic that all the money they spent would turn the vote towards them. Hopefully Wichitans can cut through the propaganda in future elections, too.

  2. Ictator

    Bob needs to correct his figures. If you round to the nearest hole number, it was 62% (or 61.57 if you want it to broken out) no vote.

    This vote has received sizable media attention in northern Kansas. A relative in the Topeka area told me that there have been some major news reports about this special election.

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