Voice For Liberty
Individual liberty, limited government, economic freedom, and free markets in Wichita and Kansas.
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Or follow Bob Weeks on Facebook at
Bob Weeks.
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[A] major reason why intellectuals tend to move towards collectivism is that the collectivist answer is a simple one. If there's something wrong, pass a law and do something about it. If there's something wrong it's because of some no-good bum, some devil, evil and wicked -- that's a very simple story to tell.
-- Milton Friedman
[T]he dream of a clockwork universe ended for science in the twentieth century, and is ending for economics in the twenty-first. The economy is too complex, too nonlinear, too dynamic, and too sensitive to the twists and turns of chance to be amenable to prediction.
-- Eric Beinhocker
A free society is most threatened not by uses of government that are obviously bad, but by uses of government that seem obviously good.
-- Charles Murray
He had only one vanity; he thought he could give advice better than any other person.
-- Mark Twain
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Employment rose and the labor force in Kansas fell slightly in July 2019 compared to the two previous months, and employment continued a trend of lower growth than the nation over the year.
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Wichita checkbook updated
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Wichita spending data presented as a summary, and as a list.
Of note, the city does not make this data available on its website.
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From Pachyderm: Chief Gordon Ramsay
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From the Wichita Pachyderm Club this week: Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay. This audio presentation was recorded on August 16, 2019.
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After move from spring to fall, local election voter turnout is mixed bag
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A 2015 law designed to increase voter turnout may not be having the intended results. When lawmakers moved local elections from the spring to the fall, many advocates of the proposal thought the change would lead to higher voter turnout. However, turnout from the Aug. 6 local elections has some people questioning whether the change is netting desired results. From
The Sentinel.
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Wichita mayoral primary election, August 6, 2019
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Here are an interactive map and table of results of the Wichita mayoral primary election, August 6, 2019.
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The Wichita Mayoral Race: Winners and Losers
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From Professor Russell Fox. "None of this takes away all the obvious advantages Longwell will enjoy in November. His record as mayor is obviously positive to many (it's probably not a coincidence that a ceremony honoring the completion of one major part of the baseball stadium which, for better or worse, is bound to be Longwell's greatest legacy, took place the day after the election). But looking at the results on Tuesday night, I suspect our mayor didn’t feel quite like the winner he would have prefer to have been."
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Gov. Kelly orders tax increase on remote sellers
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For the third time in a matter of weeks, Gov. Laura Kelly has attempted to usurp the authority of the Legislature using executive action. The Tax Foundation today reports the Kelly administration issued a directive requiring all internet sellers with Kansas transactions to begin collecting and remitting sales taxes by October. From
The Sentinel.
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Campaigning on Wichita as recession-proof
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The City of Wichita and Mayor Jeff Longwell shouldn’t be using flimsy evidence that is contrary to actual economic data.
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Support the Voice for Liberty
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Wichita jobs and employment, June 2019
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For the Wichita metropolitan area in June 2019, the labor force is up, the number of unemployed persons is up, the unemployment rate is down, and the number of people working is up when compared to the same month one year ago. Seasonal data shows declines in labor force and jobs from May.
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Voting for a mayor: The Wichita economy
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A collection of articles on the Wichita economy.
** Wichita jobs and employment, June 2019
For the Wichita metropolitan area in June 2019, the labor force is up, the number of unemployed persons is up, the unemployment rate is down, and the number of people working is up when compared to the same month one year ago. Seasonal data shows declines in labor force and jobs from May.
Click here.
** Wichita population, according to Mayor Longwell
It is unfortunate that Wichita city and metro populations are falling. It is unimaginable that our city’s top leader is not aware of the latest population trends.
Click here.
** Naftzger Park, according to Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell
He had an opportunity to learn the true history of Naftzger Park in downtown Wichita. But Mayor Jeff Longwell didn’t learn, or maybe he doesn’t care.
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** Wichita population, 2018
The City of Wichita lost 1,052 in population from 2017 to 2018, a decline of 0.27 percent.
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** Wichita personal income growing, but slowly
Among the nation’s 383 metropolitan areas, Wichita ranked 347th for personal income growth.
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** State of the City, Wichita: Employment strength
Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell’s State of the City video relies on flimsy evidence and plucks scant good news from a sea of bad. This is a problem.
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** State of the City, Wichita: The bright future
Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell’s State of the City video doesn’t seem to be based on reality.
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** Wichita population falls; outmigration continues
The population of the Wichita MSA fell from 2017 to 2018, and net domestic migration continues at a high level.
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** Wichita and national jobs
Growth of employment in Wichita compared to the nation.
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** Is the Wichita mayor satisfied with this?
A gloomy jobs forecast is greeted with apparent approval by Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell.
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** Wichita mayor promotes inaccurate picture of local economy
Wichita city leaders will latch onto any good news, no matter from how flimsy the source. But they ignore the news they don’t like, even though it may come from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, or U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
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** Wichita, a recession-proof city
Wichita city officials promote an article that presents an unrealistic portrayal of the local economy.
Click here.
** Job growth in Wichita: Great news?
A tweet from a top Wichita city official promotes great news that really isn’t so great.
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** Wichita migration not improving
Data from the United States Census Bureau shows that the Wichita metropolitan area has lost many people to domestic migration, and the situation is not improving.
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** Wichita employment to grow in 2019
Jobs are forecasted to grow in Wichita in 2019, but the forecasted rate is low.
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** Personal income in Wichita rises, but slowly
For 2017, personal income in Wichita rose, but slower than the national rate.
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** Wichita economy shrinks, and a revision
The Wichita economy shrank in 2017, but revised statistics show growth in 2016.
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35,000 years of economic history in 35 minutes
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Crystal Dozier, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology at Wichita State University, explains 35,000 years of economic history in 35 Minutes.
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From Pachyderm: David Kensinger
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From the Wichita Pachyderm Club this week: David Kensinger, President of Kensinger and Associates. His topic was “The Early Returns of the 2020 Presidential Election.”
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Can’t we have a literate mayor?
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Mistakes on Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell’s Facebook campaign page are troubling.
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Record-setting levels of Freedom in Kansas Legislature
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From Kansas Policy Institute: The results of our 2019 Kansas Freedom Index show freedom in Kansas is on the march…at least in the Kansas Legislature. The 2019 Kansas Freedom Index set records for high scores with 52 legislators scoring at least 86%. That’s good news.
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On Wichita water, Longwell is right about one thing
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A city hall news event sought to counter a news story that highlighted problems with Wichita’s water supply, but it seemed more like a political campaign event.
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Wichita property tax rate: Unchanged
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The City of Wichita property tax mill levy was unchanged for 2018. This follows two years of small decreases.
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In Wichita, revision of water history
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In 2014 Wichita voters rejected a sales tax which would have provided $250 million to spend on a water project. What were the city’s concerns?
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City council members refuse to answer questions on $75 million Wichita baseball stadium
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Following news of a professional baseball team failing in Kansas City, Kansas and owing at least $550,000 to local government,
The Sentinel asked City Council members some questions about the viability of their planned $75 million Wichita baseball stadium. Every member refused to answer these questions:
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In the first quarter of 2019, the Kansas economy grew at the annual rate of 3.1 percent, up from 0.9 percent the previous quarter. The rate of 3.1 percent ranked twentieth among the states and matched the rate for the entire nation.
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In Wichita, here’s what tax decrement means
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Wichita has a financing mechanism known as the Gilbert-Mosley tax decrement fund. I knew about tax
increment financing, but I never really understood how tax
decrement financing worked. I had thought that in this context, “decrement” had a sophisticated meaning that I wasn’t able to understand because I wasn’t smart enough, or I hadn’t tried hard enough, or I didn’t have the correct documents to read.
Now, Chase M. Billingham and Sean Sandefur have published detailed research that explains how the Gilbert-Mosley financing works.
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Metropolitan employment and labor force
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A visualization of employment, labor force, and unemployment rate for metropolitan areas, now with data through May 2019.
How does the Wichita metropolitan area compare with others regarding employment, labor force, and unemployment rate? A nearby example shows data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the United States Department of Labor. Considering growth of employment since the start of the decade, the answer is Wichita has not performed well.
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Wichita transit, by the numbers
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Transit in Wichita isn’t working very well, and it is expensive.
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Wichita transit center application
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Although plans have changed, an application by the City of Wichita holds interesting observations and claims.
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Kansas Freedom Index for 2019
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The 2019 Freedom Index is intended to provide educational information to the public about broad economic and education issues that are important to the citizens of our State. It is the product of nonpartisan analysis, study, and research and is not intended to directly or indirectly endorse or oppose any candidate for public office. From Kansas Policy Institute.
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Updated: Economic indicators in the states
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After a trend of decline, coincident and leading economic indicators for Kansas are improving.
For Kansas, the coincident index has been on a mostly downhill trend since May 2018. But for April and May of this year, the index has risen. The leading index shows the same trend: A peak one year ago, then mostly down except rising for the last two months.
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Updated: National transit database
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An interactive visualization of data over time from the National Transit Database. Now with data through 2017.
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For the first quarter of 2019, the rate of personal income growth in Kansas was less than the national rate, although better than the Plains states.
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Wichita population, according to Mayor Longwell
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It is unfortunate that Wichita city and metro populations are falling. It is unimaginable that our city’s top leader is not aware of the latest population trends.
Click for more.
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Public and Private Housing
John Todd, a community activist and retired real estate developer, spoke to interested citizens about private versus public housing initiatives Monday, June 24, 2019. Todd built his career in the private sector creating opportunities for low-cost, entry-level home ownership that let people build equity. He speaks against government taking the role of developer as with the city of Wichita's "Places for People," a large-scale initiative to use taxpayer money and government decision making to provide housing.
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Airport traffic statistics, 2018
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Airport traffic data presented in an interactive visualization, updated through 2018.
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Wichita and other airports
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New metropolitan rankings regarding knowledge-based industries and entrepreneurship
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New research provides insight into the Wichita metropolitan area economy and dynamism.
There have been some rankings showing Wichita doing well in jobs at young firms. That’s good, as young firms — which are different from small business — are vitally important to economic growth.
This study, however, shows Wichita lagging in young firm employment ratio. In these rankings, Wichita came in at position 247 of 379 metro areas. That is better than the overall ranking for Wichita, which is at number 319.
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Updated: Metropolitan populations
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A visualization of the population of metropolitan statistical areas, now with annual data from 1969 through 2018.
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Traffic is rising at the Wichita airport. How does it compare to others?
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State government tax collections
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Now data for fiscal year 2018 is available, and it shows Kansas collecting $1,172 per person in individual income taxes, an increase of $372 or 46.5 percent over 2017.
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Populations of the states
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An interactive table and charts of populations in the states and regions, from 1929 through 2018.
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Naftzger Park, according to Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell
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He had an opportunity to learn the true history of Naftzger Park in downtown Wichita. But Mayor Jeff Longwell didn’t learn, or maybe he doesn’t care.
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The City of Wichita lost 1,052 in population from 2017 to 2018, a decline of 0.27 percent.The estimate of population on July 1, 2017 was revised from 390,591 to 390,317, meaning that for 2017, Wichita population declined by 242 from the July 1, 2016 population of 390,509.
With the revised 2017 figure, Wichita has had two years of declining population.
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Sedgwick County job growth continues strong pace
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In the fourth quarter of 2018, Sedgwick County continued strong job growth. The job growth rate for Sedgwick County was 100th best among the nation’s 350 largest counties.
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What could be done with WaterWalk
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There is (was) an opportunity for Wichita to break the logjam holding up development at WaterWalk.
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King of Freight move a step sideways
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A Wichita firm plans to move its offices to what was billed as the city’s premier entertainment district.
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Wichita personal income growing, but slowly
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Among the nation’s 383 metropolitan areas, Wichita ranked 347th for personal income growth.
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Kansas personal income growing, but slowly
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For 2017, just four states had less growth in personal income than Kansas.
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Wichita public schools, by the charts
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The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for USD 259, the Wichita public school district, provides a look at trends over the years. Here are some highlights from the CAFR for the year ending June 30, 2018, known as fiscal year 2018.
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The finances of Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita
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A truthful accounting of the finances of Intrust Bank Arena in downtown Wichita shows a large loss. Despite hosting the NCAA basketball tournament, the arena’s “net income” fell.
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KPI releases 2019 Green Book
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Each year in the Green Book, Kansas Policy Institute explores the relationship between economic growth and the size of government. From Kansas Policy Institute.
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More Wichita planning on tap
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We should be wary of government planning in general. But when those who have been managing and planning the foundering Wichita-area economy want to step up their management of resources, we risk compounding our problems.
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Wichita ballpark STAR bonds, 2018 issue
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A bond disclosure document anticipated a development agreement for land surrounding the new Wichita ballpark.
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Updated: Gross domestic product by state and industry
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An interactive visualization of GDP by state and industry, updated with annual data through 2018.
As shown in the accompanying illustration, Kansas has not kept up with most surrounding states.
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State of the City, Wichita: Employment strength
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Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell’s State of the City video relies on flimsy evidence and plucks scant good news from a sea of bad. This is a problem. “Recession-proof” glosses over recent years of
declining production. “Historically low” unemployment rates ignore a
stagnant and declining labor force. “An across-the-board increase in overall jobs this year” doesn’t contextualize that the forecast rate of growth for Wichita is
anemic compared to the nation.
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In the fourth quarter of 2018, the Kansas economy grew at the annual rate of 0.9 percent, down from 1.2 percent the previous quarter. Over the last eight quarters, Kansas has averaged quarterly growth rates of 0.5 percent in annual terms. For the nation, the rate was 2.7 percent. For the Plains states, it was 1.5 percent.
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State of the City, Wichita: The bright future
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Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell’s State of the City video doesn’t seem to be based on reality.
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Wichita population falls; outmigration continues
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The population of the Wichita MSA fell from 2017 to 2018, and net domestic migration continues at a high level.
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Wichita aerospace manufacturing concentration
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Wichita leaders want to diversify the area economy. Has there been progress?
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Updated: Employment in the States
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An interactive visualization of the civilian labor force, employment, and unemployment, for each state. Updated through March 2019.
As seen in the nearby example, Kansas continues its undistinguished record in job growth as compared to nearby states. In the visualization, you can easily choose states to compare, select a timeframe, and look at labor force, employment, and unemployment.
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For 2018, the rate of personal income growth in Kansas was near the bottom of the states, although the fourth quarter was much better.
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Pay no attention to the Ferris wheel on the riverbank
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When the City of Wichita shows architectural renderings, are we to treat them as promises, or as someone’s unrealizable dream?
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In Wichita, we don’t know who we’re dealing with
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Wichita takes a big risk entering in a public-private partnership without knowing its partners.
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Updated: Kansas hotel guest tax collections
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Kansas hotel guest tax collections presented in an interactive visualization.
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Wichita, not that different
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We have a lot of neat stuff in Wichita. Other cities do, too.
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2018 A-F Grading of Kansas Schools Released
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One year ago, Kansas Policy Institute unveiled the initial groundbreaking A-F grading system for Kansas public schools and released the 2018 grade card last week. KPI undertook that effort to create a reporting system so that parents could more easily understand exactly how schools are performing. The Kansas Department of Education (KSDE), like all state education departments across the country, publishes a “Report Card” on its website, but it is difficult, if not impossible, to synthesize all that information to determine overall performance of individual schools. From Kansas Policy Institute.
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Wichita considers a new stadium
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The City of Wichita plans subsidized development of a sports facility as an economic driver. Originally published in July 2017.
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Wichita and national jobs
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Overall, since 2011 — roughly the end of the Great Recession — Wichita has been gaining jobs, evidence being its trend line above zero in the nearby chart which shows the change in jobs over the same month one year ago. But the line has not always been above zero, indicating months where the Wichita metropolitan area had fewer jobs than the year before.
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Wichita city protections for ballpark land development
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The City of Wichita says it has safeguards built in to the proposed baseball park land development deal. We need safeguards. The city is borrowing to pay for the project, and the city expects to collect a lot of money from surrounding development, necessary to pay off the borrowed money.
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Wichita ballpark land deal: John Todd
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In this short video, John Todd tells us why the city is not acting in the best interest of citizens regarding the land development deal near the new Wichita ballpark.
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Wichita vets its baseball partner(s)
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The City of Wichita tells us it has thoroughly vetted the majority owner of the new Wichita baseball team.
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Did Wichita forget the interest?
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In a presentation, Wichita economic development officials ignore the cost of borrowing money.
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In Wichita, respecting the people’s right to know
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The City of Wichita says it values open and transparent government. But the city’s record in providing information and records to citizens is poor, and there hasn’t been much improvement.
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Wichita legal notices could be more accessible
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Kansas law requires publication of certain notices in newspapers, but cities like Wichita could also make them available in other ways that are easier to use.
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Update: Wichita city sales tax not passed
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There was no successful Wichita city sales tax election. City documents were mistaken, which raises more issues.
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In Wichita, no tenant poaching, unless waived
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The city of Wichita has included anti-poaching clauses in development agreements to protect non-subsidized landlords, but the agreements are without teeth.
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Coverage of Wichita baseball owner Lou Schwechheimer
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Press coverage of new Wichita baseball team majority owner Lou Schwechheimer.
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Is the Wichita mayor satisfied with this?
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A gloomy jobs forecast is greeted with apparent approval by Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell.
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Sedgwick County Commission needs to slow down, get things right
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Sedgwick County needs to make sure past issues are known and settled before proceeding with hiring a new county manager, writes former commissioner Richard Ranzau.
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Another Wichita survey, another set of problems
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The Wichita Eagle editorial board notices problems with a survey gathering feedback on Century II.
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Wichita mayor promotes inaccurate picture of local economy
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Wichita city leaders will latch onto any good news, no matter from how flimsy the source. But they ignore the news they don’t like, even though it may come from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, or U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
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Wichita, a recession-proof city
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Wichita city officials promote an article that presents an unrealistic portrayal of the local economy.
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Job growth in Wichita: Great news?
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A tweet from a top Wichita city official promotes great news that really isn’t so great. There is good news — Wichita is not forecast to lose jobs, as it has in the recent past. But the rate of growth seen for Wichita is not robust, and that’s a serious problem, especially when our officials think it’s good.
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In Wichita, a gentle clawback
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Despite the mayor’s bluster, the city failed to enforce the agreement it made to protect taxpayers. Instead, the company receives $153,000 in free taxes that it didn’t deserve, along with an interest-free loan of $100,000 amortized over four years.
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Wichita employment to grow in 2019
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The forecast for Wichita metro area employment in 2019 calls for modest growth of 0.9 percent, according to the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University. This follows growth of 0.8 percent in 2018.
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Personal income in Wichita rises, but slowly
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For 2017, personal income in Wichita rose, but slower than the national rate. For all metropolitan areas in the United States, personal income rose by 4.5 percent. For the Wichita metro area, the increase was 2.3 percent. Of 383 metropolitan areas, Wichita’s growth rate was at position 342.
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Sedgwick County tax exemptions
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Unlike the City of Wichita, Sedgwick County has kept track of its tax exemptions.
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Efficiencies in Sedgwick County government
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A document that hasn’t been made public details savings achieved in Sedgwick County over a recent period of nearly three years.
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The use of sales tax proceeds in Wichita
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Must the City of Wichita spend its share of Sedgwick County sales tax proceeds in a specific way?
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Sedgwick County income and poverty
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Census data show Sedgwick County continuing to fall behind the nation in two key measures.
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Ranked-choice voting in Kansas
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A look at ranked-choice voting and how it might have worked in the Kansas Republican gubernatorial primary election in August 2018.
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Wichita property tax still high on commercial property
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An ongoing study reports that property taxes on commercial and industrial property in Wichita are high. In particular, taxes on commercial property in Wichita are among the highest in the nation.
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Wichita and Midwest income
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How much do Wichitans earn at their jobs, compared to other cities?
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Local government employment in Kansas
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Kansas has nearly the highest number of local government employees per resident, compared to other states. For all local government employees, Kansas had 50.59 per thousand residents in 2016, higher than all states (and areas) but the District of Columbia and Wyoming. These employees had an annual payroll of $2,141.16 per resident. Ten states were higher.
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NAEP results for 2017 available in interactive visualizations
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When properly considered, Kansas often underperforms the nation in the most recent assessment of “The Nation’s Report Card.”
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Wichita economy shrinks, and a revision
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Statistics released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, an agency of the United States Department of Commerce, show gross domestic product (GDP) figures for metropolitan areas. Also included are revised statistics for previous years.
For 2017, the Wichita metropolitan area GDP, in real dollars, fell by 1.4 percent. Revised statistics for 2016 indicate growth of 3.8 percent for that year. Last year BEA reported growth of -1.4 percent.
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Pete Meitzner for Sedgwick County?
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In normal times, Republicans may be reluctant to vote for a Democrat for the Sedgwick County Commission. But these are not normal times, and a vote for Pete Meitzner sends a message that we just don’t care about our economy.
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Kansas highway pavement conditions
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Each year the Kansas Department of Transportation surveys the condition of highway pavement and issues a report called the Network Optimization System (NOS) Survey.
Of the condition of highways, the report notes: “Since the data was first collected in 1983, the percentage of pavement surface in good condition has appreciably increased while the percentage of poor pavement has significantly decreased.”.
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Kansas school spending, through 2018
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Charts of Kansas school spending presented in different forms. One of the most important charts shows state spending per-pupil, adjusted for inflation. It shows the total of state and local spending, which is useful because in 2015 the state made a change in the way revenue is allocated between state and local sources. It also shows base state aid per pupil, which is an important number as it is the starting point for the school funding formula.
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GDP by metropolitan area and component
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The Bureau of Economic Analysis, an agency of the United States Department of Commerce, gathers data about economic output, known as gross domestic product. The visualization presented here presents this data in tabular and graphic form.
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State government employees in Kansas
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Kansas has more state government employees per resident than most states, and the trend is rising. Two things are evident: The level of employment in Kansas is generally higher than the other states, and the trend in Kansas is rising when many states are level or declining. This data counters the story often told, which is that state government employment has been slashed.
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Kansas state and local taxes
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Among nearby states, Kansas collects a lot of taxes, on a per-resident basis.
From the first quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2018, Kansas and its local governmental units collected an average of $681 per quarter per resident in taxes. Of nearby states and a few others, Arkansas and Iowa had higher values, and Iowa is higher by only one percent.
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