Economist Art Hall on Wichita’s water and economic development
In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: Economist Dr. Art Hall of the Center for Applied Economics at The University of Kansas talks about issues relevant to the proposed Wichita sales tax, particularly...
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Haupt’s Commentary: Someone has to take the initiative
“Communism is a monopolistic system, economically and politically. The system suppresses individual initiative, and the 21st century is all about individualism and freedom.” ~Lech Walesa When our...
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Haupt’s Commentary: A politician’s worst nightmare? Citizens taking initiative
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed and hence clamorous to be led to safety, by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” ~H. Mencken...
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How much Wichita sales tax is paid by visitors?
Part of the sales pitch for the proposed Wichita sales tax is that part is paid by visitors. But there are big differences in opinion as to how much. In a “frequently asked questions” document produced...
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9 Ways to Shed Light on Election Season with Citizen Journalism
Election Day is almost here and the candidates, from local elections all the way up to state-wide races, are making the rounds to win over voters. As citizen journalists, we don’t take sides in...
View Article‘Yes Wichita’ deletes voters’ questions about sales tax proposal on its...
“Yes Wichita” is a group that wants you to vote “Yes” on the proposed Wichita sales tax. But this group will not answer questions. Instead they delete the inconvenient questions. I’ve asked the “Yes...
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Wichita voters’ opinion of city spending
As Wichita voters prepare to decide on the proposed one cent per dollar sales tax, a recent survey found that few voters believe the city spends efficiently. In April Kansas Policy Institute...
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In Wichita, pro-sales tax campaign group uses sales tax-exempt building as...
“Yes Wichita” campaigns for higher sales taxes from a building whose owners received a special exemption from paying sales tax. Many Wichitans remember the building at the northwest corner of First and...
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Is Wichita campaigning for the sales tax with water supply rhetoric?
To pay for a new water supply, Wichita gives voters two choices and portrays one as exceptionally bad and unwise. This either-or fallacy created by the city is a form of campaigning for the sales tax...
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Haupt’s Commentary: The Gilded Age’s Silver Lining
“No country can be well governed unless its citizens as a body keep religiously before their minds that they are the guardians of the law, and that the law officers are only the machinery for its...
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Should Wichita expand a water system that is still in commissioning stage?
In this script from the next episode of WichitaLiberty.TV, I report my concerns about rushing a decision to expand a water production system that has not yet proven itself. For the proposed Wichita...
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By threatening an unwise alternative, Wichita campaigns for the sales tax
To pay for a new water supply, Wichita gives voters two choices and portrays one as exceptionally unwise. In creating this either-or fallacy, the city is effectively campaigning for the sales tax. In...
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Haupt’s Commentary: Athenian Direct Democracy, Our Failed Legacy
“To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers.” ~L. L’Amour “In a democracy there is, first, that most splendid of virtues, equality before the law.” This was...
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Wichita sends educational mailer to non-Wichitans, using Wichita taxes
Why is the City of Wichita spending taxpayer money mailing to voters who don’t live in the city and can’t vote on the issue? A resident of Bel Aire thought it was curious that she received an...
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Examining claims in favor of the proposed Wichita sales tax
In an advertisement in the Wichita Eagle and in a mailer sent to Wichita voters, the “Yes Wichita” group makes a series of statements regarding plans for a new water supply. It’s important that Wichita...
View ArticleWichitaLiberty.TV: The proposed one cent per dollar Wichita sales tax
In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: We’ll talk about the proposed Wichita sales tax, including who pays it, and who gets special exemptions from paying it. Then, can we believe the promises the city...
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Haupt’s Commentary: American politics is about local politics, nothing more
“Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.’” ~Lao Tzu Political, social or community problems by their very definition concern a large number of people....
View ArticleVoter privacy a subject ready for debate
Campaign methods used in the recent election may spark debate on the information government makes available about voters and their voting behavior. This election day, after voting, someone posted on...
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Here’s a Wichita sales tax election map by district
Here’s a map I created of the “No” vote percentage by council district for the 2014 sales tax referendum. To use an interactive version of this map, click here. On the interactive map you may scroll...
View ArticleWichitaLiberty.TV: The Wichita Eagle fails the city and its readers
In this excerpt from WichitaLiberty.TV: In its coverage of the recent election, the Wichita Eagle has failed to inform its readers of city and state issues. View the video below, or click here to view...
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