Kicking the Can Down the Road

The Gov announced yesterday that he wants the Leg to move $166 million from next year's Medicaid budget to this year's, so the state can get more money in Federal matching funds this year. And as much as David Williams wants to use this to score political points, the bill is a good idea and should pass. Why would we want to take 70% matching funds when we can get 80%?

Here's the larger problem, though --

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Enough Reason To Vote For Beshear / Abramson

People who know me know that I have not been overwhelmed with the Beshear administration. I think he missed a huge opportunity with the budget crisis and special session a few years ago, when he had the opportunity to fix the ongoing mess that is Kentucky's revenue system, and instead brought forward a lackluster gambling bill. Then he followed that up by proposing a budget that counted on gambling revenue to be balanced, instead of doing something sensible like pushing Jim Wayne's bill. So, I've not been a huge Steve Beshear fan.

For a long time, I WAS a huge Mayor Jer fan. That lessened considerably when I saw how Fourth Street Live went down. Having local businesses like Lynn's Cafe and Hawley-Cooke Books shut out in favor of national chains left a sour taste in my mouth. Add to that the ongoing questions about Cordish, the various audit findings, and some discussions I've had with local Metro government employees, and I've become less of a Mayor Jer fan over the past few years.

So, while I think both of these men have done many good things, I was not real enthusiastic about voting for them next year. Then, in this morning's C-J, I saw something that certainly made me much more determined to see these two men serve the next four years in Frankfort:

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I Think I'll Run for Governor

I've never held elective office (not counting student senate in college), but I could do better than this. Who presents a budget that includes an unapproved revenue stream? That's just irresponsible. It's playing at governing, farting around with the future.

Here's a truism that this governor apparently hasn't learned:

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

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Hey Gov -- How About EFFECTIVE Government?

I heard an interview with Gov. Beshear yesterday, and I was struck by his definition of success. When asked to identify some of the signature wins of his first two years, he noted "we've shrunk the size of government."

Sound good to you? Then imagine this -- at a press conference in 2011, someone asks Coach Cal to identify the signs that the Cats are making progress, and he says, "We've cut the number of players on scholarship!"

Here's a news flash for the Gov and for anyone else who has drunk the "government is bad" koolaid --

It's not about big or small government; it's about effective government. And Kentucky continues to suffer from one of the most ineffective governments in the country.

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Once Again, Coal Wins

Why are we even surprised any more?

The former head of the state mine-permitting agency said Tuesday he was fired after refusing to go along with an illegal policy that primarily benefited a politically powerful coal company, Alliance Resource Partners.

Ron Mills, a veteran state regulator, was fired without explanation last Friday by the Beshear administration as director of the Division of Mine Permits. (Courier-Journal, 2009/11/17)

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What's Up with Beshear?

So I opened up my C-J this morning and saw where Governor Beshear has jumped into the lap of the conservative wing -- not of the Democratic party, but of the Republican.

First he says that mountain-top removal can be done in an "environmentally-friendly way." Yes, and amputation can be done in a body-friendly way -- but you still lose an arm and a leg. I have a hard time imagining an environmentally-friendly way to cut the top off a mountain and throw it into a valley. The only environment this practice is friendly to is the environment inside the coal baron's wallet.

Then we get the amazing comment that he would consider doing away with the state income tax. Here we are, cutting services right and left, throwing mentally ill people onto the streets with no care, and moving higher education further and further out of the reach of most Kentucky citizens -- and the Gov wants to take money off the plus side of the ledger? And replace it with what -- a 10% sales tax? No, I know: it's the return of "Gambling will save us all!"

It is time for all of us to stand up and say it -- one sure way to make sure "government is the problem" is to underfund it. Paying taxes is the price of a civilized society. And a graduated income tax is the most equitable solution to the perennial "how to pay for it" question.

Governor Beshear can choose to make hay by promoting religious license plates, and I'll not say much because I understand where he lives and who the audience is. But when he follows a disastrous budget session with a plan to do away with the state income tax, then it's time to ask -- when did you change your party affiliation, Governor?