Spinmeister

The Herald-Leader has this story on Steve Beshear pushing casino gambling, Beshear has new spin on casinos.

FRANKFORT --
Casino gambling legislation that Gov. Steve Beshear plans to release next week could produce several hundred million dollars in licensing fees that would boost his anemic two-year budget proposal, the governor said Friday.

He declined to provide details, but said "the license fees that can be produced by this are significant."……

Beshear's declaration reverses his prior position against counting on casino money to bolster the budget that takes effect July 1.

"It's not financially responsible for me to do," he told the Herald-Leader on Jan. 13. "I'm going to go ahead and propose my budget based on what these (General Fund revenue) projections really are."

New spin my Aunt Fannie.

This is the same fiscally irresponsible crap dished by the Fletcher administration in a new wrapper.

Beshear acknowledged that the spending of one-time money from license fees could worsen the "structural balance" of the budget.

For several years, lawmakers have been spending more money than the state's General Fund has produced. It's called a structural imbalance -- lawmakers use money that won't be available in the future to pay for programs that will continue to cost money.

Folks this is like having maxed out a dozen credit cards and getting a new one to solve the problem.

What is it going to take for these guys to get some guts and do the right thing?

You cannot provide revenue sources for long term commitments with one time band-aid answers like casino gambling. It doesn’t work. The credit card eventually maxes out and someone has to pay it off.

This is not leadership. Steve Beshear is paying off political debts by providing a simple, easy to understand wrong answer to a complicated problem. Steve Beshear was right the first time, this is irresponsible.

There are practical alternatives:

HB 443 (BR 838) - D. Watkins, M. Marzian, T. Burch, J. Crenshaw, J. Jenkins, R. Meeks, C. Miller, H. Moberly Jr, D. Owens, R. Palumbo, C. Rollins II, K. Stein, J. Wayne, S. Westrom

AN ACT relating to a cigarette surtax and declaring an emergency. Amend various sections of KRS Chapter 138 to create an additional cigarette surtax of 70 cents; increase the tax rates for other tobacco products and snuff; impose a floor stock tax as of July 31, 2008; EMERGENCY.

Feb 1-introduced in House
Feb 4-to Appropriations & Revenue (H)

HB 262/FN (BR 911) - J. Wayne, J. Jenkins, L. Belcher, T. Burch, L. Combs, K. Hall, R. Henderson, M. Marzian, R. Meeks, T. Riner, K. Stein

AN ACT relating to taxation. Amend KRS 141.020 to increase the tax rate on income over $75,000; amend KRS 141.066 to establish a refundable earned income tax credit at 15 percent of the federal credit; amend KRS 140.130 to decouple from the federal estate tax phase-out; amend KRS 139.120, 139.200, and 139.480 to include a list of selected services as subject to sales tax; amend KRS 141.0205 to recognize changes to income tax credits; make income tax provisions effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2008, make estate tax provisions effective for deaths on or after August 1, 2008; make sales tax provisions effective for billings on or after August 1, 2008.

Jan 10-introduced in House
Jan 15-to Appropriations & Revenue (H)


This is a financial management problem Beshear and most of the General Assembly, Republicans and Democrats, refuse to address. This is a financial management problem that will eventually be solved on the backs of Kentucky taxpayers.

The current actions of the Governor and General Assemby are at best irresponsible.