Archive for the ‘Kansas’ Category
Kansas Blog Roundup for August 29, 2008
Kansas bloggers were hard at work again this week, covering a wide variety of topics. See Kansas Blog Roundup for August 29, 2008
Kansas Blog Roundup for August 22, 2008
In Kansas this week, some blogs are quiet, but others pick up the slack with some worthwhile posts. See Kansas Blog Roundup for August 22, 2008.
Kansas Blog Roundup for August 15, 2008
No overarching theme emerged this week in Kansas blogs. Follow-up from the August 5 Kansas primary and Wichita school board action proved popular with readers. See Kansas Blog Roundup for August 15, 2008.
Questions Wichita Reverend Kevass Harding Will Not Answer
A Wichita minister and school board member seeks a large benefit for his real estate development, but will not answer questions posed by a constituent. See Questions Wichita Reverend Kevass Harding Will Not Answer.
Wichita School Bond Issue Opponents: Driving What? And How?
A Wichita Eagle columnist complains that in spite of all the advantages that Wichita school bond issue proponents have, the opposition is somehow driving the issue.
The full story is here: Wichita School Bond Issue Opponents: Driving What? And How?
The Wichita Eagle’s Preference For Government
An article in the June 19, 2008 Wichita Eagle (Many businesses owners say they carry too much of local tax burden) provides an example of the frequently-expressed bias against individuality and markets, and in favor of government and its institutions.
The full article is at http://wichitaliberty.org/node/712
Wichita Public School District’s Taxation Without Information
Taxation without information. I wish I could take credit for inventing this phrase that I recently heard someone use. It captures very well the key characteristic of USD 259, the Wichita public school district, and its campaign for the proposed 2008 bond issue.
The full article is here: http://wichitaliberty.org/node/711
Wichita School Bond Issue: Surrounding Districts Are Growing and Building New Facilities
The full story is here: Wichita School Bond Issue: Surrounding Districts Are Growing and Building New Facilities.
Wichita School Bond Issue: Is Economic Impact Real?
The fact that government spends money does not mean it is spent wisely in ways that create wealth and makes people better off. Does a study the Wichita, Kansas school district relies on have an opinion about the wisdom of school district spending?
The full story is here: http://wichitaliberty.org/node/707.
A Believer in Good Government Programs
An audio version of this post is available here.
A Mr. Greg Abbott of Clearwater, Kansas makes the case in the June 13, 2008 Wichita Eagle that there are many good government programs: the interstate highway system, the post office, the air traffic control system, police and fire departments, etc.
I believe the writer makes a huge error in logic by assuming that because these programs exist and have been provided by government, then they are good things to have, and that these things can only be provided through government. To make this conclusion requires a huge leap and a good measure of misplaced faith in the institution of government.
Many of the programs the writer cites as examples of good government programs are frequently criticized. The interstate highways in our nation’s cities are often congested to the point where loss of time spent stuck in traffic is a serious problem. Then there is the problem of safety of the nation’s highways, on which some 40,000 people die each year, and many more are seriously injured. Walter Block writes “As far as I am concerned, [these deaths are] taking place in spite of, not so much because of, the actions of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, despite their tendency to take credit for anything positive that happens on their watch, as do all statist agencies.” I recommend his article Deaths by Government: Another Missing Chapter.
The post office? Do many people rely on the post office for delivery of critical shipments when private alternatives such as FedEx and UPS are available?
As for flood control, the federal government’s flood insurance program, by suppressing signals that would be expressed in the price system as insurance premiums, if there was indeed a free market for such insurance, has lead to numerous deaths. Ask the residents of New Orleans how they feel about government levees and government flood insurance. See How Government Insurance Destroyed New Orleans.
Need I continue? Each government program Mr. Abbott mentions has severe problems, and most crowd out efforts by private enterprise to provide alternatives.
There is a truth in the writer’s letter in this sentence: “We need to wake up and realize that we all depend on the government.” That this is true is profoundly sad. Government, Mr. Abbott, operates through force and coercion. Wouldn’t it be better if we could solve problems and provide services through the voluntary cooperation of people?