Eric Adams, Come See Kansas’s ‘Brand’ for Yourself

When the mayor of one of America’s most culturally and economically important cities talks about a “brand,” there is a good chance they’re doing it wrong. New York City mayor Eric Adams recently took a swipe at Kansas, my home state, while applauding the care provided by New Yorkers to hurricane-wrecked Caribbean islands in his recent visit to the region. “New York has a brand. . . . Kansas doesn’t have a brand; New York has a brand,” said Mayor Adams. Trafficking in assumptions is tricky, but it’s likely he thinks the closest we Kansans get to a “brand” is how we mark our cattle after we stumble out of our sod homes.

If he cared to look, Adams would likely find that the issues facing Kansas and New York City are quite similar: Achievement gaps in education that leave too many low-income and minority children behind; a cost of living that is spiraling out of control; occupational-licensing requirements that place costly, sometimes-discriminatory burdens on people who are reaching for the next rung on the economic ladder; and crony capitalism that rewards the politically connected at the expense of small businesses.

JF

About the Author

James Franko

James Franko is the president of the Kansas Policy Institute.

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When the mayor of one of America’s most culturally and economically important cities talks about a “brand,” there is a good chance they’re doing it wrong. New York City mayor Eric Adams recently took a swipe at Kansas, my home state, while applauding the care provided by New Yorkers to hurricane-wrecked Caribbean islands in his recent visit to the region. “New York has a brand. . . . Kansas doesn’t have a brand; New York has a brand,” said Mayor Adams. Trafficking in assumptions is tricky, but it’s likely he thinks the closest we Kansans get to a “brand” is how we mark our cattle after we stumble out of our sod homes.

If he cared to look, Adams would likely find that the issues facing Kansas and New York City are quite similar: Achievement gaps in education that leave too many low-income and minority children behind; a cost of living that is spiraling out of control; occupational-licensing requirements that place costly, sometimes-discriminatory burdens on people who are reaching for the next rung on the economic ladder; and crony capitalism that rewards the politically connected at the expense of small businesses.