Voice For Liberty

Category: Wichita city government

  • Wichita Smoking Ban: Authoritarian, Elitist?

    Here’s some good commentary I received from a citizen. Wichita’s smoking “ban” will take effect before too long.  Smoke ’em while you can, I guess.

    Wichita’s Smoking Ban and the latest authoritarian arrogance emitted by elitist professor

    University of Kansas School of Medicine professor Dr. Rick Kellerman is on the front page of the May 30 Wichita Eagle.  Kellerman is upset that a complete ban on smoking is not expected to be adopted by the city council at their June 3 meeting.

    Who appointed Dr. Kellerman to be Wichita’s doctor?  The doctor’s elitist and authoritarian statement in today’s Wichita Eagle indicates that he is either trying to become the 21st century version of the Prohibition era’s Carrie Nation or the 20th century’s version of the infamous Nurse Ratched (see Ken Kesey’s classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) for improper behavior.  The arguments that Kellerman uses could also be used to ban everything from firearms, cars, risky behaviors from hang gliding to bungee jumping, and a host of activities that free people exercising their freedom in a responsible way may decide to engage in performing.

    While it is a common leftist trait to call their political opponents, “fascists” it is a historical fact that the most famous anti-tobacco and anti-smoking advocate in the first half of the 20th century was Adolf Hitler who was happy to use his tyrannical powers to impose his will upon his subjects.  This was (and is) part of the authoritarian elitism that underlies all totalitarian ideologies.

    Dr. Kellerman’s desire to follow in these footsteps here in Wichita as part of his campaign to destroy invidual liberty, property rights for individuals and business owners, as well as broadly restrict select human freedom.  Dr. Kellerman knows better than the peasants what is good for us.

    Obviously this arrogant professor has never read Thomas Sowell‘s The Vision of the Anointed Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy, a book that describes Kellerman’s ideology and elitist arrogance perfectly.  The same issue of the Wichita Eagle has a small story about California’s state senate has passed a ban on smoking within one’s own apartment.  Friendly fascism of the nanny state elitists like Dr. Kellerman are active all across this country.

  • Government Art in Wichita

    Do we really want government art in Wichita?

    David Boaz, in his recent book The Politics of Freedom: Taking on The Left, The Right and Threats to Our Liberties writes this in a chapter titled “The Separation of Art and State”:

    It is precisely because art has power, because it deals with basic human truths, that it must be kept separate from government. Government, as I noted earlier, involves the organization of coercion. In a free society coercion should be reserved only for such essential functions of government as protecting rights and punishing criminals. People should not be forced to contribute money to artistic endeavors that they may not approve, nor should artists be forced to trim their sails to meet government standards.

    Government funding of anything involves government control. That insight, of course, is part of our folk wisdom: “He who pays the piper calls the tune.” “Who takes the king’s shilling sings the king’s song.”

    When I read Rhonda Holman’s editorial City can be proud of its arts work in the July 15, 2008 Wichita Eagle, which starts with the stirring reminder that “The arts fire the mind and feed the heart” I thought that perhaps she was going to call for less government involvement in the arts. Anything so important to man’s nature surely, I thought she would agree, should not be placed in the hands of government.

    But my hopes were not realized, because soon she described the City of Wichita’s commitment to permanent spending on arts as “a bold and even brave investment in quality of life.” It appears that even the yearnings of our hearts and minds are subject to government management and investment.

    “Government art.” Is this not a sterling example of an oxymoron? Must government weasel its way into every aspect of our lives?

    And what about the “investment” in art, which Ms. Holman claims helps “drive the economy” through its economic impact and job creation? She, and Wichita City Council member Sharon Fearey rely on a study from 2007, which I discuss in Economic Fallacy Supports Arts in Wichita. This study tells of the fabulous returns on investment by governments when they invest in the arts. Like most studies of its type, however, it focuses only on the benefits without considering secondary consequences or how these benefits are paid for. Henry Hazlitt, in his masterful book Economics in One Lesson explains:

    While every group has certain economic interests identical with those of all groups, every group has also, as we shall see, interests antagonistic to those of all other groups. While certain public policies would in the long run benefit everybody, other policies would benefit one group only at the expense of all other groups. The group that would benefit by such policies, having such a direct interest in them, will argue for them plausibly and persistently. It will hire the best buyable minds to devote their whole time to presenting its case. And it will finally either convince the general public that its case is sound, or so befuddle it that clear thinking on the subject becomes next to impossible.

    It is, as Hazlitt terms it, “the special pleading of selfish interests” that drive much of the desire for government spending on the arts. Either that or elitism. Do newspaper editorialists and city council members believe that the people of Wichita can choose for themselves the art they want to enjoy, and then acquire it themselves? Evidently not, as the City of Wichita government has its Division of Arts & Cultural Services.

    (The material by David Boaz is from a speech which may be read here: The Separation of Art and State.)

  • Wichita Old Town Theater’s Bill Warren: No Ideas?

    Recently the Wichita City Council approved a no-interest and low-interest loan to Old Town Wichita theater owner Bill Warren and his partners. Citizen opinion in Wichita seems to be mostly outrage at this giveaway, and rightly so. See Wichita Old Town Warren Theater Public Hearing Remarks and Wichita and the Old Town Warren Theater Loan.

    Now, a post by Randy Scholfield on The Wichita Eagle Editorial Blog (Bill Warren wants your ideas!) comments on how Bill Warren wants Wichitans to send him ideas. According to the Wichita Eagle news story Warren wants filmgoers’ ideas, “Warren, who typically plans his theaters and renovations down to the detail, plans to turn much of the planning for the Old Town Warren remake over to the downtown moviegoing public.” (I guess that’s only fitting, as he asked the citizens of Wichita for a subsidy to help pay for it.)

    Wrote Mr. Scholfield in the blog post: “You’d think he and his partners in the Old Town Warren might have a revival plan worked out already, as a condition of the loan, right?”

    Now, when it’s too late, Scholfield asks the question. Perhaps he can recall his editorializing in favor of the Warren theater loan.

  • Reverend Kevass Harding and His Wichita TIF District

    Remarks to be delivered to the Wichita City Council, July 8, 2008.

    Mr. Mayor and members of the council, today I will not discuss the desirability of tax increment financing (TIF) districts in general, or the merits of this one in particular. I’ll leave that for the August 12 public hearing. Instead, I wish to express my concerns about a thorny situation involving the applicant and overlapping governmental jurisdictions.

    In Wichita, Reverend Kevass Harding, a member of the USD 259 (Wichita public school district) board is also a real estate developer. His development group is asking the City of Wichita for the creation of a tax increment financing district (New life for Ken-Mar Shopping Center: Harding plans to revitalize 13th Street mall, March 14, 2008 Wichita Business Journal).

    In Kansas, when a city creates a TIF district, the affected county and school district have 30 days to veto its creation. When Wichita creates TIF districts, the county and school district usually agree. To my knowledge, there has been no veto by either. These overlapping taxing jurisdictions don’t have to pass a resolution to agree to the TIF district. All they have to do is not pass a resolution that vetoes it.

    In this case, Reverend Harding is asking Wichita for relief from paying some of the property tax for his real estate development. (Some might disagree that the TIF district provides relief from paying taxes, but that’s not important for now. It is undoubtedly a benefit of some type, and that’s what matters.) Then the Wichita public school board, Reverend Harding being a member of that, has to give its agreement for the TIF district to proceed.

    The problem is that the way the school board indicates its agreement to the establishment of the TIF district is by doing nothing. Only passive agreement is required. Negative action is what is required. If the school board was required to pass a resolution agreeing to the TIF district, Reverend Harding could declare a conflict of interest and sit out the vote. That’s positive action. That happened last week in this very chamber.

    But since no vote is required by Reverend Harding or his board — only passive assent — how can we ask him to recuse himself? Can we insist that he cease to do nothing? That’s the problem with requiring someone to take negative action.

    So what do we do?

    The best solution is for Reverend Harding to withdraw his request for the creation of the TIF district that benefits his development. Then there is no problem with conflicts of interest. This is also congruent with Reverend Harding’s votes to increase taxes while a member of the school board. His business would pay the same taxes he demands others pay.

    Failing that, one way we could handle this situation is that the city could ask the school board to agree to pass a resolution agreeing to the TIF, even through they aren’t required to do this. Then Reverend Harding could publicly acknowledge his conflict of interest and step aside.

    But should the City of Wichita even care about this? Is it the city’s responsibility to ensure that other governmental entities act ethically and transparently?

    In the end, it may not matter, as to my knowledge, neither Sedgwick County nor the Wichita public school district has vetoed the creation of a TIF district passed by the City of Wichita. But I think the citizens of Wichita and USD 259 would appreciate this situation resolved in a way that avoids all conflicts of interest.

  • Wichita Council Member Jeff Longwell: We Can, and Do, Read

    Wichita City Council Member Jeff Longwell, in the news article Little time to review Warren loan terms (July 1, 2008 Wichita Eagle), was reported as remarking “It’s unlikely many residents would read the full contract even if it had been made public earlier.”

    Mr. Longwell, many people in Wichita do read documents such as these. I think a better question is whether city council members read and understand these documents. This is from before Mr. Longwell’s time on the council, but in the article The Real Scandal at City Hall, I report how city council members are sometimes not aware of even the most basic facts about city affairs:

    … council members were described as being surprised upon learning that the industrial revenue bonds and property tax abatement awarded to a local business also included a sales tax break. How could they be surprised? The City of Wichita website contains a nicely-done page titled “Industrial Revenue Bonds” (located at http://www.wichitagov.org/Business/EconomicDevelopment/IRB) (This is the first result that appears when you use the wildly popular Google search engine and search for “Wichita IRB.”) The first link on this page is titled “IRB Overview: Industrial Revenue Bond Issuance in the State of Kansas,” and you don’t have to read very far before you come to the sentence reading “Generally, property and services acquired with the proceeds of IRBs are eligible for sales tax exemption.”

    (The city’s website has been rearranged a little since then. The new location for this page is http://www.wichita.gov/CityOffices/CityManager/Urban/EconomicDevelopment/IRB/.)

    Besides being wrong on whether people read documents like these, I think Mr. Longwell’s statement reveals an unfortunate attitude towards the people of Wichita. I don’t think he always felt this way, as earlier this year it was reported he “strongly believes in transparency in government.” (Rule seeks to stop leaks after private city council meetings)

    Mr. Longwell is correct in that the Old Town Warren Theater loan documents should have been released to the city council and the public earlier. Mr. Longwell could have shown us evidence of his belief in transparency by moving to delay yesterday’s council action until these documents could be read, digested, and debated.

  • In Wichita, is Economic Development Proven Public Policy?

    In a statement read by Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer and released on the city’s website at Mayor Brewer Warren Theatre [sic] Statement, the mayor states “Economic development is proven public policy.” The word “proven” was used several other times in the statement.

    (I don’t know who wrote the title to the statement, but it combines the mayor’s name with theater developer Bill Warren’s name in a way that is, I am sure, unintentionally humorous. Mayor Brewer Warren? Who is he?)

    The Warren Theater economic development project is one example of economic development that has proven not to work, despite the mayor’s claims.

    But that is only my opinion. The definition of success, I realize, could mean different things to different people. To me, I would expect that once a development is given a huge head start with millions of dollars in subsidy provided through tax increment financing, that after a few years it would at least be breaking even. Certainly, I would hope — and I think the people of Wichita agree — that the project does not become a continual drain on the resources of the people of Wichita, as the Old Town Warren Theater has become.

    But it appears that Mayor Brewer and council member Sharon Fearey have a different definition of success. To them, tax increment financing is not a subsidy to a developer. It’s an investment by the city. All it’s used for, according to Fearey, is to pay bonds: “Under a TIF, the additional property taxes generated by new development are used to repay bonds. No dollars go to private developers.” (Sharon Fearey: Warren loan is an investment in future, July 1, 2008 Wichita Eagle)

    Ms. Fearey, may I ask this question: the proceeds from the bonds that were issued: how are they spent?

    An interest-free or reduced-interest loan is not a subsidy according to the mayor, it’s “targeted economic development.” It’s a “public-private partnership.” Without it, our taxpayer dollars would not be protected.

    John Todd tells me that there is a groundswell of resentment building in Wichita over this loan. I hope that in the coming months this increased interest in the economic development activities of the Wichita city government leads to more discussion of what path we want to pursue in Wichita. Do we want more private initiative and entrepreneurship, or do we want more politicians and bureaucrats?

  • Wichita Old Town Warren Theater Public Hearing Remarks

    From John Todd.

    Testimony I presented before the Wichita City Council on July 1, 2008 in opposition to the proposed Old Town Warren Theater LLC loan.

    The question before the council today relates to the proper role of government.

    I believe the role of government is that of acting as a non-partial judge from the sidelines, protecting the rights and property of all citizens, through the rule of law, and not acting as a participant in any activity, particularly economic, that places it in a partnership role with one group of citizens to the exclusion of all others. When government becomes an active participant in economic activity or acts as an agent for one party to the exclusion of other citizens, it abdicates its proper role of providing the legal framework and physical security needed for private economic activity.

    The dilemma our city faces today is a result of its participation in an economic activity that it should never have been involved in, in the first place. For starters, our city government needs to divorce itself from further involvement with the Old Town Warren Theater project for a number of reasons.

    Our city is not a bank, and the proposed loan being discussed today is an inappropriate role for city government.

    If the Old Town Theater group is facing financial problems, they need solve those problems without help from the public treasury. Based on what I have read about the principals in this group, I believe they possess the management talent and skills to succeed without public assistance.

    The beautiful thing about the free-market is the freedom for a business enterprise to succeed and enjoy the fruits of that success. By the same token, a business should be allowed the freedom to fail, and suffer whatever consequences that brings. Thousands of other businesses across our city play by those same rules every day without the government parachute or the backing of the public treasury that is being proposed for this private group. The Old Town Theater project owners should be no exception to these rules.

    I talk daily to other people in our city and have found no public support for the Old Town Theater loan, and, in fact, I have been surprised at the high level of outrage people are expressing towards this proposal.

    I request that you vote NO for this project. I believe, by voting NO, you will be exercising the will of your constituents and the public, and will be exercising the stewardship they expect from you as their elected officials.

    P.S. After a strong lecture from Mayor Carl Brewer about the economic advantages of public/private partnerships like Old Town, the council voted 6-0 to grant the Old Town Warren Theater loan with Council Member Jim Skelton abstaining from the vote.

    NOTE: I had the following material ready for presentation, but decided not to be too philosophical with the council so I did not present either.

    I believe a quote by 18th Century French economist Frederic Bastiat, is appropriate for today’s discussion when he was describing the socialism that permeated his native France when he said, and I quote: “The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else.” I believe Bastiat would describe the work of today’s city council as legal plunder or the use of political power to redistribute wealth from others what they are unwilling to obtain through the voluntary exchange in the marketplace.

    To paraphrase a statement made by President Cleveland prior to 1900 when he was called upon to save a struggling orphanage in New York City during a severe economic crises. He said something to the effect, that “I cannot be a party to taking money (from the public treasury) from one group of citizens and give it to another group of citizens, no matter how worthy the cause, it is the responsibility of citizens to support their government, it is not governments responsibility to support its citizens.”

  • Wichita and the Old Town Warren Theater Loan

    Remarks to be delivered to the Wichita City Council, July 1, 2008.

    Mr. Mayor and members of the Council, we are potentially beginning a journey down a road where there are two classes of businesses in Wichita.

    There are business owners who seek to earn their profit through market entrepreneurship, that is, by meeting the demands of their customers and the marketplace. That’s a difficult thing to do. An entrepreneur must sense customer demand and desires, and then commit resources to satisfying customers. If entrepreneurs are correct in their judgments and successful in their execution, they earn profits.

    There are other business owners who, through TIF districts, tax abatements, and outright subsidy as in the case of the proposed loan agreement before you today, earn their profits by pleasing politicians such as the members of this council. They practice political entrepreneurship. The people they must please are a majority of this council. Investments — to the extent that government spending can be called that — will be made based on political, rather than marketplace, considerations.

    We have a proud history of market entrepreneurs in Wichita; men whose names are known not only in Wichita, but across the world. There are many other men and women in Wichita who, although their names are not famous, successfully meet customers’ demands in the marketplace and have built successful businesses.

    Mr. Warren is, by all accounts, a talented entrepreneur who earns profits by pleasing customers at his theaters located on Wichita’s west and east sides and in other cities.

    The fact that this theater — operated by a person with great experience in running successful theaters — is not profitable tells us all we need to know about the wisdom of investment in this business. If Mr. Warren and his partners wish to run it as a hobby, let them do so with their own money. The citizens of Wichita, however, need to be able to make their own investments in ways that they believe will earn a profit — that profitability being the one sure test of the success of an investment. When government makes “investments” based on political calculation, the people of Wichita are less able to make their own private investments.

    The council made an unwise decision some years ago when it established the TIF district for this theater. While the city is bound to pay to retire the bonds that were issued, that is the only obligation we have. The fact that a bad decision was made in the past should have no bearing on the decision to be made today. This is especially true as a decision to make this loan steers Wichita firmly towards the path of less private entrepreneurship and more government control of investment in Wichita.

  • Warren Old Town Wichita Theater: Good Money After Bad?

    This letter is from my friend Darrell Leffew. Not everyone seems to understand the folly of throwing good money after bad. “Taxpayers are already on the hook” is Wichita city council member Jeff Longwell’s opinion as expressed in a Wichita Eagle article. Mr. Longwell, I realize you weren’t a member of the council when we taxpayers were placed on the hook, but don’t help us on another, please.

    Let us not throw more good money after bad. The Wichita City Council has approved a business loan to the Limited Liability Company that owns the Old Town Warren Theater.

    That same company was quoted in an Eagle article earlier this month as saying the remodel paid for by the loan would cut the losses. No mention of ending the losses, just reducing. What are the exact estimates? Taxpayers should be fully informed.

    An Eagle article of November 2004 talked about revenues related to the TIF, which funded Old Town development, being woefully short. How many millions of taxpayer dollars are already at risk? And if the business goes into foreclosure before the loan is repaid, we the taxpayers have first claim on a failed, debt ridden property.  Our interim City Manager advised against the loan.

    Our elected officials are not just offering commercial banking now but BAD commercial banking. And the “Open for Business” sign is bright neon.

    Has our City Council overstepped its authority? Voters will decide at the polls.