Focus People

Anyone that has read any of my postings regarding smoking or big tobacco knows that I will be very happy when tobacco companies go out of business.

So take a moment and focus here. Let me give you a metaphor, we need to drain the swamp, but we keep forgetting to drain the swamp because we are fighting off the crocodiles.

Here’s one crocodile. David Williams, out of the blue, is in favor of an unenforceable statewide ban on smoking in public places. As the Herald-Leader points out, that dog don’t hunt.

…..anything our pro-tobacco legislature is likely to pass would be weaker than the ordinances that local governments are enacting. A statewide ban would drain the political energy from local efforts to enact better protections.

And without a ton of money behind it, enforcement would be a joke.

A second crocodile is the continued mantra that we can only pass a small tobacco tax. If the best the legislature can do is a 20 to 30 cent per pack tax on cigarettes, then we should urge our legislators to vote it down. This is a delaying tactic.

What to do?

Focus on draining the swamp. The only acceptable answer is a dollar, or more, tax per pack of cigarettes. Stay after your state legislator; instill a spine in our honorable representatives so they can do the right thing.

Call them, write them, and go visit them.

Don’t settle for half way measures.

God Hates Cigarette Taxes

Raising the cigarette tax in Kentucky is a tax on behavior and would be immoral.

Well, Leland Conway of the Conservative Edge is half right. Raising the cigarette tax is a tax on behavior. As far as it being immoral that’s just plain stupid. I just can’t find that passage in my bible that says “Thou shall not tax cigarettes.”

Making a pseudo logical argument, Conway suggests we should tax other behaviors.

If we are going to use this line of logic then we must also conclude that we need to tax obesity, or at least behaviors that lead to it. People who are obese also have many costly health problems. Should we put a $1 tax on Twinkies?

…….But suggest raising the tax on a bottle of beer by a dollar and see what happens.

His conclusion is that:

……punishing a minority of the populace to achieve this goal is made no more acceptable. It will certainly hurt small businesses and increase untaxed black market tobacco activity. In addition, it will ultimately hurt those it was intended to help. Taxing behavior is nothing more than a sneaky way for the government to expand the size of its treasury power.

The conclusion is about a quarter right, taxing cigarettes, like any other tax, expands the size of the treasury. I don’t see how sneaky applies, after all aren’t both of us blabbering about it on blogs and isn’t in the newspapers.

A few other points:

I like a cold frosty malt beverage as much as the next guy and I could live with a tax increase on beer. Taxing a Twinkie works for me too and I’ll go as far as increasing the taxing all of those fast food emporiums that are intent on super-sizing our rear ends.

I don’t have a problem with sin taxes.

Usually the morality and small business coalition against a government action occurs when there is a vote on a locality going wet. The bootleggers and the local messengers of God rally together to stop this ungodly and unprofitable activity, thus saving the masses from paying another tax on liquor.

But that argument doesn’t play here, if we embrace the idea that increasing the tax tobacco will hurt small business and create a black market, perhaps we should reconsider the laws against cooking up meth in kitchen. After all aren’t we stifling an entrepreneur and creating a black market?

Finally let me give you another way to tax behavior. Let’s tax all of the vehicles on the road according to their emissions, not how much you paid for it. I can’t wait to hear why this is a bad idea.

Problems At The Ivory Towers

Academics in Kentucky aren’t pleased that someone questions them being given a blank check.

Facing some of the angriest public remarks by a group of Kentucky University presidents in memory, a panel gave the initial vote of approval Thursday to higher tuition at the state's public universities and community colleges, including five institutions whose requests were cut.

By a 4-0 vote, with one member absent, the budget and finance committee of the state Council on Postsecondary Education approved the council staff's tuition recommendations for 2008-2009. It's rare for universities' tuition requests to be denied or even scrutinized to the extent they have been this year, at least since higher education reforms of 1997.

Let’s give credit to the Council on Postsecondary Education for at least trying to do their job.

The blame for rising tuition has a multitude of fathers and a few mothers.

First, we can blame the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky for the almost universal disdain for education. As long as the major and most of the minor institutions provide entertainment with their athletic teams most Kentuckians don’t give a damn about what happens on campus.

Second, the so called representatives of the people in Frankfort who don’t have the cohones to pass a viable revenue bill, and thus creating the budget short fall. I think special recognition should be given to the “NO NEW TAX” crowd that prefers sound bites that appeal the first group above.

Third, the administrators of our institutions of higher learning who place students last on their list of priorities, permit the building of petty fiefdoms, and allow a host of other sins in the name of academic freedom.

I’m not saying to run the Universities like a business, but a little accountability and responsibility would be nice from all concerned

Professional Whining

I find it truly grating on the ear when affluent professionals whine.

The budget currently before Steve Beshear has raided the professional boards. So be it. What the General Assembly did to these boards’ pales in comparison to the raping of social programs and education.

From the Courier-Journal:

In a move critics say could threaten public safety, lawmakers scooped up millions of dollars in fees that professionals -- such as doctors, nurses and dentists -- pay to support their licensing agencies.

The whining about protecting the public is a smoke screen. Yes, their purpose is to police their professions and some of this does happen, but the primary purpose of most of these boards is to collect licensing fees.

If you don’t think they are cash fat, then why do they all need separate buildings and facilities scatter across the state? Why shouldn’t they all be in the same location, sharing hearing rooms and support staff?

Even though there is some centralization of the boards in Frankfort there a lot of others scattered across the state. Here are a few examples.

Kentucky State Board of Accountancy
332 W. Broadway, Suite 310
Louisville, KY 40202

Kentucky Board of Architects
Spindletop Administration Building
2624 Research Park Drive, Suite 101
Lexington, Kentucky 40511

KY Board of Auctioneers
9112 Leesgate Rd #5
Louisville KY 40222

Kentucky Board of Barbering
9114 Leesgate Rd. Suite 6
Louisville, KY 40222

Kentucky Board of Chiropractic Examiners
209 South Green Street
Glasgow, KY.

Education Professional Standards Board
100 Airport Road, 3rd Floor
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601

Kentucky Board of Haridressers & Cosmetologists (not my typo, click the link)
111 St. James Court Suite A
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601

Kentucky Board of Nursing
312 Whittington PkySuite 300
Louisville, KY 40222

Instead of whining perhaps our professionals should put pressure on the General Assembly to up the cigarette tax.

After all, according to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance, psychologists have contributed $66,508.77 to various politicians. Nurses have contributed $488,732.75, and physicians have contributed $4,013,886.19.

There is $4.5 million dollars in influence from only three professions.

The Next Budget Battle

Steve Beshear has left himself a way out of the budget mess.

A day after legislators approved a lean state budget; Gov. Steve Beshear said he might veto specific spending items, but not the entire measure. He also warned of a possible special lawmaking session to raise taxes.

David Williams also has a way to save face from this fiasco.

Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, said it's the governor's responsibility to call a special session if revenue figures fall 5 percent below current projections. The budget bill spells out that shortfalls of less than 5 percent can be addressed by the governor without legislative approval.

Well I can pretty well tell you that the Bush administration will continue to drive the economy into the crapper and Kentucky will follow. Revenue will fall 5% or more below current projections.

So what should Steve Beshear do now?

First, take a red pen to every pork barrel project in the budget.

Second, take a few months to lay the ground work for a special session dealing with tax increases. Twist a few arms, pass out a few goodies, kiss and make nice, or kick butt whatever it takes to get the ducks lined up.

Third, help Greg Stumbo become Speaker of the House. Given recent performance Jody Richards should pass the gavel to someone that might have a clue on how to manage caucus. This one act will improve state government immeasurably. On the well documented in the media personal side, Greg Stumbo is a train wreck, but never underestimate his political skills.

Fourth, actually know exactly what you want out of the session before you start and make sure everyone else knows what the game plan too. People can be convinced raising taxes is necessary, but not if it’s just to pour money into a black hole.

Take the issue to the public and show them graphically what an underfunded state government really means to them personally.

Dear Mr. Sloth

I received this comment on a previous post, so consider this a follow-up.

Rightwing Ground Sloth has left a new comment on your post "No More Mr. Nice Guy <http://www.ralphlong.com/2008/04/no-more-mr-nice-guy.html> ":

Ralph...you really should try and explain how tax increases ends up benefiting the economy. I'd love to read about that. It seems to me that Tennessee is doing reasonably well and they have no income tax at all.

I'm no finance guy. Don't even play one on TV. But it seems to me that if you raise taxes then prices go up as well. Those companies you are taxing are going to offset that tax on the backs of the very people you are trying to help. Raise income taxes on those people in Kentucky that pay taxes would only serve to make them tighten up even more than they already are with gas prices where they are. When they tighten up on their spending the sales tax receipts plummet. Again, I'm no finance guy, but that just doesn't make sense to me.

While those state employees toil away for nothing(compared to their private sector peers) and look into next year at their proposed 1% raise you are suggesting we raise their taxes so they end up LOSING money with that raise? They are already losing money to the 2.7% inflation rate! They have been going backwards for the past several years anyway...you tax hike won't help that.

So...splain yerself...please.

So here is the ‘splainin’:

Dear Mr. Sloth,

First, Tennessee does have an income tax:

The individual income tax is imposed only on individuals and other entities receiving interest from bonds and notes and dividends from stock.

Second, Tennessee’s primary source of revenue is the sales tax:

Generally, the state's sales and use tax rate is 7 percent.

Food is taxed at 5.5 percent, but candy, dietary supplements and prepared food are taxed at the increased 7 percent rate.

Local sales taxes also are collected and those rates vary from 1.5 percent to 2.75 percent.

When it comes to soaking the poor Tennessee is one the best states in the country.

From Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States. “

When all Tennessee taxes are totaled up, the 2003 study found that:

The state and local tax rate on the best off one percent of Tennessee families—with average incomes of $828,000—is 3.3% before accounting for the tax savings from federal itemized deductions. After the federal offset, the effective tax rate is a mere 3.0%.

The average tax rate on families in the middle of the income distribution—those earning between $24,000 and $38,000—is 8.8%. After the federal offset, the rate is 8.7%, nearly three times the effective rate the richest pay.

But the tax rate on the poorest Tennessee families—those earning less than $14,000—is the highest of all. At 11.7% it is nearly four times the effective rate of the wealthiest Tennesseans.

By comparison Kentucky Sales and Use Tax are imposed at the rate of 6% of gross receipts or purchase price. There are no local sales and use taxes in Kentucky.

Kentucky does not tax food.

….food and food ingredients means substances, whether in liquid, concentrated, solid, frozen, dried, or dehydrated form, that are sold for ingestion or chewing by humans and are consumed for their taste or nutritional value. Excluded from the exempt food and food ingredients are the subcategories of (a) alcoholic beverages, (b) tobacco, (c) candy, (d) dietary supplements, (e) soft drinks, and (f) prepared food.

So if you want to talk about being poor and paying taxes then I’d rather be in Kentucky.

Third, there is no legislation to “raise income taxes on those people in Kentucky”.

Fourth, the sales tax increases that were killed by the state Senate were on:

Commercial janitorial services, including carpet, upholstery, and window cleaning; armored car services; security services; Chartered air flight services if a pilot is furnished, including hot air balloon flights; and Commercial linen services, excluding: Commercial uniform services; and Commercial linen services provided to hospitals and nursing homes.

Now I realize that those taxes will impose a burden on individuals needing to have their hot air balloon cleaned before the armored car arrives with their money, but I can live with that.

Fifth, considering the real costs of smoking, everyone would be better off if it went away. The arguments made by the Tobacco Apologistas just don’t hold up.

Once again let’s look at the real costs of smoking.

Annual health care costs in Kentucky directly caused by smoking - $1.50 billion

Portion covered by the state Medicaid program - $487 million

Residents' state & federal tax burden from smoking-caused government expenditures - $602 per household

Smoking-caused productivity losses in Kentucky - $2.13 billion

If there is one single answer to "how tax increases ends up benefiting the economy" then just add up the billions of dollars that would be added to the Kentucky economy if tobacco went away.

Yes, a tax on smoking is a regressive tax; it will impact the poor more than the rich. And yes, I know you can’t legislate morality or health. But you can sure tax stupid behavior. I see this tax as much a social policy as a revenue generation device. The tax makes good long term health policy and good long term fiscal policy.

Sixth, successive governors and legislatures over the last four decades have systematically stripped financial rewards from state employees. I have repeatedly said the common way to balance the budget is to do it on the backs of state employees.

If we had a sane tax policy, then state workers could be paid amounts comparable to the private sector. The plantation mentality, (guess who the slaves are), used by a long line of Kentucky politicians culminating in David Williams will continue to prevail as long as sound bites like “No New Taxes” resonate with the voters.

For state workers there are two alternatives, either shut up and take it or unionize. If you don’t like the idea of a union look at the teachers. As a group the legislators and the Governor are a hell of a lot more scared of what the KEA is going to do than what state workers are going to do.

Please feel free to use these talking points when discussing the issues with other sloths.

No More Mr. Nice Guy

Legislators don’t like the budget.

Hours after weary House and Senate budget negotiators finished a patchwork $19 billion spending plan, other lawmakers began blasting it for what they considered fatal deficiencies: education and health program cuts, paltry teacher raises, and few projects.

The wave of frustration that crested suddenly Tuesday -- especially among House Democrats -- now puts in jeopardy the prospect of passing the two-year state budget, which legislative leaders had hoped to do Wednesday.

The Governor doesn’t like the budget.

“However, I can say I’m disappointed that the proposed budget does not include any plan for additional, recurring revenue so desperately needed by Kentucky.

“As you recall I proposed not one but two plans for recurring revenue -- namely expanded gaming and an increase in the state’s low cigarette tax -- in an effort to move the state forward in the areas of education, health care, public safety and economic development.

Brereton Jones thinks Beshear screwed up handling expanded gambling.

Former Gov. Brereton Jones, who was instrumental in persuading Steve Beshear to run for governor, is criticizing Beshear's handling of a constitutional amendment to allow casino gambling in Kentucky.

Beshear was "in the perfect position of getting it done and he did not," Jones said Tuesday in an interview. He is chairman of the Kentucky Equine Education Project, which pushed casinos.

I think Casinos are a bad idea, but Jones is right, Beshear just didn’t get it done.

So what can Governor Steve Beshear do? Here are a few suggestions.

First, if that mass of Jell-O, the General Assembly, actually passes the budget the Governor should veto it. If the legislature doesn’t pass a budget we move to step two.

Second, the Governor should call the legislature into special session after the May primary election. He should privately threaten to keep calling them into session until the November election unless they pass a reasonable budget. This keeps legislators with contested campaigns from raising money, a real motivator to get something done.

Third, hand Jody Richards and Harry Moberly the budget bill with tax increases and projects. Tell them they can change commas but they can’t change the substance of the bill. Make it clear that if they screw this up then Governor will not be pleased.

Fourth, take David Williams to the wood shed, something long overdue, and hang every painful program cut back on his head. Give Williams a diplomatic way out but make it clear that you, as Governor, will make his life a living hell in every possible way unless he cooperates. Believe me a Governor can do this even to David Williams.

Fifth, drag every waffling member of the legislature, Democrat and Republican, into a one on one session with the Governor and his staff and make it damn clear that screwing with the Governor on this will make their life incredibly unpleasant. Tell then what they are getting, what it’s going to cost them and what they need to say in public.

Sixth, take the message of what government cut backs mean to every citizen to the public forum. The Governor has the bully pulpit. He should use it. The mainstream media is lazy. He can supply them with an endless amount of information on why his plan is good and why David Williams and his toadies are evil.

Bottom line Steve Beshear needs to grow a pair and quit being Mr. Nice Guy.

Political Will

I continue to be amazed at the general incompetence of the General Assembly and the Governor when it comes to putting together a budget.

This one sentence from Pol Watchers sums up the problem.

No new taxes were included in the budget, lawmakers said. About $85 million in savings would be assumed from government efficiencies created by not filling state jobs that open up later this year after an expected wave of retirements.

Here’s the problem, you have to believe that experienced state employees making $85 million during the budget cycle, are totally worthless. You have to believe that the state will be better off without them.

Now I will allow in some cases that’s true. But the truth is if that many people and their institutional memory go out the door then a lot of things government does will be done badly or not at all.

The mantra of shrink the government only works if you are willing to put up with shrinking the services government provides. Now it’s obvious the politicians are willing to balance the budget on the backs of state workers, teachers and the poor. There is nothing new in that formula.

The need to act like lemmings and follow Grover Norquist makes passing a tax of any sort nearly impossible.

Our honorable leaders have also refused to do any of the heavy legislative lifting on major issues. They seem to have a need to engage in pissing contests like the one between David Williams and Harry Moberly and one between Damon Thayer and Mike Cherry rather than do any real work.

Take for example their inability to address the mess at Kentucky Retirement Systems.

Decisions on how to restructure the state employees' underfunded pension plans could depend on how much money the state budget can put into them.

House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, said Monday evening that the budget being hammered out now has little in the way of new revenue, leaving pension plan negotiators in the dark and far apart.

The longer they put off doing something the bigger the mess gets. The same goes for Medicaid funding and true comprehensive tax reform.

Every legislator and the Governor know what the problems are, and what the solutions are, but they lack the political will to do their jobs.

There is an answer. A Governor that could actually lead and manage a thoughtful legislative agenda would go a long way to solve the problems but that’s at least four years away.

A complete change in the leadership of the House and the Senate would be good too. Every year these guys prove that if they were all in giant paper bag they would try to walk out the closed end. Again I don’t see this happening anytime soon.

Tobacco Apologista

We have another OP-ED piece in the Herald-Leader from a shill for big tobacco. This one comes from Jim Waters, Director of Policy and Communications for the Bluegrass Institute.

First off let’s understand where the Bluegrass Institute stands. They are anti-union, pro big business, in favor of giving tax money for private schools; support Bush’s policies in Iraq, and in favor of tort reform. They pretty much follow the right wing Republican agenda.

Waters arguments on raising he cigarette tax are basically these:

Poor people smoke the most and can’t afford to pay the price of their addiction.

Can the poor afford to pay all of the costs of smoking, not just the price of a pack of cigarettes? Waters is just blowing smoke when he talks about costs. His argument just looks at the tip of the ice berg when it comes to cost.

If his argument was applied to the cost of having children, he would have us believe that the only cost associated with having children is the cost of bailing them out of the hospital after the birth and the next 18 to 21 years are free, he completely ignores long term issues.

Retailers will go under and lay off thousands of people.

True there may be some job losses, among farmers, cigarette factories workers, advertisers, and retailers. But the money that used to be spent on cigarettes does NOT disappear from the economy. When people cut back their smoking or quit, they spend the money they save on other things, this generates new jobs in other sectors. There is just as much of a possibility that increasing tobacco taxes could generate more jobs than it costs.

The essential fact here is not that people have quit spending money, but they buy something other than cigarettes.

Education works better than tax as a deterrent to smoking.

This makes as much sense as abstinence training stops teens from having sex. In 1994-95 a study of the effectiveness of Choosing the Best was conducted by Northwestern University Medical School 60% of students, who had had sex, indicated an intention to be abstinent.

The real deterrent to smoking is the cost of the product, the details are here.

Legislators will violate their no new tax pledge.

That would be a shocker, a legislator breaking a promise. The lemmings that follow Grover Norquist shouting the “No New Taxes” sound bite are really too stupid to be in the legislature. They limit their options and the options of the people they represent.

I don’t think every tax is a good tax, but to not consider the option shows me a legislator that has the capacity of viewing all their options from A to B.

Waters arguments are short sighted, largely unsupported by facts and rigidly doctrinaire in support of a right wing, consequence be damned philosophy.

Striving for Mediocrity

The Herald-Leader has pretty well summed up the Steve Beshear administration so far.

A year ago, amid a competitive Democratic primary for governor, Steve Beshear told a crowd of Hopkins County Democrats that he planned to be the second native of the county to become Kentucky's governor.

It was a bold declaration.

On Saturday night, amid a competitive Democratic primary for president, Beshear had the chance to make another strong political statement in front of his home crowd by endorsing in that race.

Instead, Beshear, who grew up in Dawson Springs, reiterated that he hasn't "quite made up my mind."

I originally thought the Beshear administration would be a care taker administration. But, so far Beshear’s actions and appointments have struggled to reach mediocre.

With the notable exception of pushing for casino’s, a train wreck of political incompetence, this administration has basically done nothing but give a bunch of Frankfort old timers jobs.

Beshear has dropped the ball a bunch of times. His coming late to the idea of raising the tobacco tax and his less than inspiring endorsement of restoring voting rights to former felons are but two examples.

So it’s no surprise his is taking the least politically dangerous route when it comes to supporting a presidential candidate.

If Steve Beshear wanted to make a bold move, or if he could just do math, he would follow Danny Briscoe’s advice.

Briscoe suggested that Beshear should back Obama regardless of how the Kentucky primary turns out because Obama mathematically looks to be the nominee with his lead in delegates.

"In Kentucky, clearly Clinton is going to win 2 to 1, but if the governor steps forward and says he's for Obama in a white, Southern state, that puts him in a position to be remembered by Barack Obama for a long time" if Obama wins the White House, Briscoe said.

Shame

Shame on you, you pandering, math challenged, pork barrel filling, weak kneed, self-serving, sorry excuses for leaders, shame on you!

May you never have to watch someone you love slowly die from cancer.

From the Herald-Leader:

After the meeting, House budget chairman Harry Moberly Jr., D-Richmond, said the House and Senate agreed on several ways to raise more money for the state.

He said both chambers think that $85 million a year could be found through early retirements this year from state government because of enhanced benefits.

But Moberly said the House plan to increase the state cigarette tax by 25 cents a pack "is off the table" for the Senate. That hike would generate $230 million over two years.

Without the cigarette tax hike, Moberly said, "we might be able to agree to a budget but without various projects."

Various projects! Projects!!

How about the project of reducing the number of kids smoking?

How about the project of reducing the cost to every tax payer in this state pays for the medical problems caused by smoking?

On never mind, this bunch of pathetic political hacks isn’t listening.

Small Pond, Small Fish

In the past I’ve taken Harry Moberly, chairman of the House Budget Committee, to task on a number of occasions. But night Moberly summed up the major problem with the Kentucky General Assembly.

From the Courier-Journal:

"We want to do these good things but we don't want to pay for them..." Moberly said

When the session recessed for the night leaders of both sides noted that the long day of work had produced little. "We're working hard, but we haven't made any difficult decisions yet," Moberly said.

In a nutshell, most of the politicians sitting in Frankfort unwilling to make any decision that would possibly give a future opponent any ammunition. Their self-interest is not enlightened, it is just a need to pretend to represent the voters and keep getting elected.

And in case anyone had any doubts President of the Senate David Williams is a smart ass.

The House has approved increasing tobacco taxes and applying the sales tax to some services. But the Senate has not approved any higher taxes this session.

"One of us is just being irresponsible about this," Moberly said.

Williams replied, "We're praying for you that you won't continue to be irresponsible."

Moberly answered, "Thank you Mr. President. I appreciate that. I appreciate your smart ass remarks."

Kill the Goose

In an op-ed piece published by the Herald-Leader, Thomas A. Briant, executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets in Minneapolis, whines that “a tax increase of any kind is the last thing Kentuckians need right now”.

Of course he means tobacco tax increase. Briant continues:

Beshear and Kentucky's legislators need to look beyond the state's borders to understand that increasing the cigarette tax will likely result in killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

His argument is this:

The explanation for this phenomenon is quite simple. Smokers don't necessarily stop smoking, but they drive across the border to another state with lower taxes, order cigarettes online to escape any state cigarette tax or buy from black market dealers

His explanation is a lie. Briant sites no studies, no facts, no numbers his explanation is a total fabrication.

From the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids:

In every single state that has significantly raised its cigarette tax rate, pack sales have gone down sharply. While some of the decline in pack sales comes from interstate smuggling and from smokers avoiding in-state purchases and going to other lower-tax states or to the Internet to buy their cigarette, it is clear that reduced consumption from smokers quitting and cutting back plays a more powerful role. As shown in more detail, below, nationwide data – which counts both legal in-state purchases and the vast majority of packs purchased through cross-border, Internet, or smuggled sales – shows that overall packs sales go down as state cigarette tax increases push up the average national price.

Here is the real truth about raising the cigarette tax from Phillip Morris:

Of all the concerns, there is one - taxation - that alarms us the most. While marketing restrictions and public and passive smoking [restrictions] do depress volume, in our experience taxation depresses it much more severely. Our concern for taxation is, therefore, central to our thinking . . . .

You want to talk dollars and cents then try these numbers:

Annual health care costs in Kentucky directly caused by smoking - $1.50 billion

Portion covered by the state Medicaid program - $487 million

Residents' state & federal tax burden from smoking-caused government expenditures - $602 per household

Smoking-caused productivity losses in Kentucky - $2.13 billion

Unlike Mr. Briant who pulls generalities out of thin air, the information from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids is backed by research; here is the source information for most of it from the Center for Disease Control.

So I say kill the damn goose. Our kids, our health and our overtaxed wallets are going to be a lot better off when it’s dead.

Didn't Your Mother Teach You Anything?

If Sen. David Williams and Rep. Harry Moberly didn’t have so much power to screw things up then watching them in a pissing contest might be fun.

But given their behavior lately the voters should send both of them home.

A proposed overhaul of Kentucky's ethics laws has plunged two of the state's most powerful lawmakers into a quarrel that could bring havoc to upcoming negotiations over the state budget.

A flare-up between Senate President David Williams and House budget committee chairman Harry Moberly Jr. brought accusations of unethical activity and name-calling on Friday.

Both of these guys need to grow up and get over their over-inflated sense of self importance and actually do the jobs the people of Kentucky expect them to do.

Gutless in Frankfort

A couple of questions:

If 93 members of the House can pass this bill to limit kids smoking then why can’t they raise the cigarette tax by 70 cents to accomplish the same goal?

Is the answer they don’t have the guts to raise a tax but they can fine people for handing out cigarettes?

Is the answer that Democratic House Leadership owes so many favors to campaign contributors they get weak knees when it comes to protecting the health of our children?

And one other thing:

If Stan Lee and 5 others are so concerned about family values why couldn’t they bother to show up to vote? Maybe they were too busy at a convenience store on the Tennessee line handing out cigarettes to kids.

HB 474 (BR 1739) - J. Jenkins

AN ACT relating to tobacco products.

Amend KRS 438.313 to prohibit a person from purchasing on behalf of or giving tobacco products and cigarettes to persons under 18 years of age; establish a fine of $500 to $1000 for violations; amend 438.315 to prohibit a vending machine containing tobacco products to sell nontobacco products, except for matches.

Feb 6-introduced in House
Feb 7-to Licensing & Occupations (H)
Feb 28-posted in committee
Mar 5-reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar
Mar 6-2nd reading, to Rules
Mar 10-posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Mar 19-3rd reading, passed 93-0

Kick 'Em Before They Get Up

If you look at a single act by a legislator you can get pissed off. However, if you take a wide look at their total activities you can get really outraged.

I started by looking at the amendments attached to House Bill 70.

House Bill 70 would allow the voters of this state to decide if convicted felons that have served their time the right to vote.

AN ACT proposing an amendment to Section 145 of the Constitution of Kentucky relating to persons entitled to vote.

Propose to amend Section 145 of the Constitution of Kentucky to exclude a convicted felon from the right to vote until expiration of probation or final discharge from parole or maximum expiration of sentence; submit to the voters for ratification or rejection.

However James Comer, who obviously pays no attention to groups like the League of Women Voters, wants to kill the bill with a poison pill amendment.

HFA (6, J. Comer Jr) - Retain original provisions and amend to require that before any felon may have voting rights restored the felon must reimburse the state for 25 percent of the cost of the felon's detention.

He can call this a reimbursement, but it’s really a poll tax or additional fine for having been in prison.

Kentucky's felon prison population in 2007 was 22,402. The taxpayers of Kentucky spent $454 million on corrections in 2007. To payback according to Comer’s amendment each prisoner will need to send the state $422.21 for every month served

So maybe Comer is just trying to ease the budget crisis by generating $113 million per year from former convicts. That would help balance the tax breaks he wants to pass out.

HB 532/FN (BR 966) - F. Nesler, H. Collins, E. Ballard, L. Belcher, S. Brinkman, J. Comer Jr, W. Coursey, R. Damron, M. Denham, J. Gooch Jr, D. Horlander, C. Miller, M. Rader, S. Rudy, J. Stacy, G. Stumbo, T. Thompson, T. Turner, J. Vincent, R. Wilkey, B. Yonts

AN ACT relating to tax credits for railroad infrastructure improvements.
Create new sections of KRS Chapter 141 to establish railroad infrastructure maintenance and improvement tax credit for Class II and III railroads; set credit at 50 percent of qualified expenditures, with a credit cap of $4,500 per mile of track, and allow credit to be assigned to a shipper using the rails who pays for the improvements; establish a railroad grade crossing improvement tax credit to improve existing rail crossings; set credit at 25 percent of expenditures, with a credit cap of $1,000,000 statewide each year; establish system of prorating credits among railroad companies if more than $1,000,000 of credits are sought; establish a railroad energy expansion tax credit for rail expansion or upgrade of rail facilities to transport fossil or biomass resources; set credit at 25 percent of expenditures, with a credit cap of $1,000,000 statewide each year; establish system of prorating credits among railroad companies if more than $1,000,000 of credits are sought; specify that an expenditure that qualifies for more than one of the tax credits established by the Act may only be claimed as a credit under one section; amend KRS 141.0205 to place the credits established under the Act in the tax credit priority list; provide that the provisions of the Act apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008.

In case you are wondering what a Class II and III railroad is, here is an example. The Paducah and Louisville Railroad is a Class II railroad in Kentucky. The President and CEO of the Paducah and Louisville railroad is A.V (Tony) Reck. Reck and his wife, according to the Registry of Election Finance, has given over $14,000.00 to political candidates, mostly Republican candidates like Ernie Fletcher and Stan Lee. Of course I’m sure that has nothing to do with this little tax break.

HB 333/FN (BR 1123) - D. Pasley, H. Moberly Jr, J. Comer Jr, C. Hoffman, T. McKee, F. Nesler, D. Osborne, S. Overly, T. Turner, R. Webb, B. Yonts

AN ACT relating to veterinarians and making an appropriation therefor.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 321 to establish a student loan forgiveness program for Kentucky residents who agree to serve as a veterinarian in large or mixed animal practice in an underserved area in Kentucky; establish loan forgiveness caps; establish eligibility requirements for loan forgiveness; create a Veterinary Student Loan Forgiveness Committee and establish duties of the committee; APPROPRIATION.

HB 341/FN/LM (BR 1181) - J. Bell, J. Comer Jr

AN ACT relating to taxes of cities and counties. Amend KRS 81A.450 to clarify that a city annexing an industrial park shall assume all debt associated with the development of the park, and shall be required to share future occupational tax revenues with the localities that developed the park

HB 418/FN (BR 1637) - B. Farmer, J. Hoover, S. Brinkman, D. Butler, J. Comer Jr, T. Couch, R. Crimm, B. DeWeese, M. Dossett, T. Edmonds, C. Embry Jr, J. Fischer, D. Ford, D. Graham, K. Hall, A. Koenig, S. Lee, R. Mobley, B. Montell, T. Moore, D. Osborne, M. Rader, T. Riner, S. Santoro, C. Siler, K. Upchurch, J. Vincent, A. Webb-Edgington, A. Wuchner

AN ACT relating to individual income tax. Amend KRS 141.010 to exempt any portion of a federal tax rebate included in federal adjusted gross income; apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2008.

Of course Comer doesn’t just believe in limiting the voting rights of former felons. We have this poison pill amendment to House Bill 138 that would permit early voting.

HFA (3, J. Comer Jr) - Amend KRS 117.086 to allow a county board of elections to require that one or more precinct election officers be present when in-person absentee voting is being conducted.

Comer, in addition to bashing released felons and passing out tax breaks, likes to join in with Stan Lee and beat up on Hispanics


HB 95/LM/CI (BR 283) - R. Nelson, J. Comer Jr, R. Damron, S. Lee
AN ACT relating to unauthorized aliens. Create a new section of KRS Chapter 15 to allow local law enforcement agencies to enter into agreements with the federal government to enforce immigration law; create a new section of KRS Chapter 16 to require the State Police to enter into an agreement with the federal government to enforce immigration law and to form a Kentucky State Police Illegal Alien Task Force; Create several new sections of KRS Chapter 337 to prohibit employers from employee illegal aliens, to create a graduated loss of business license or charter scheme for those found to have done so after January 1, 2009, and to require utilization of a federal work authorization verification system; amend KRS 514.160 to include with the offense of identity theft the theft of identity by an unauthorized alien for the purpose of obtaining employment; create a noncodified section to create a Employer Sanctions Task Force to study the system of employer sanction relative to the employment of unauthorized aliens to operate during the 2008 legislative interim; create a noncodified section to name the act, "The Kentucky Legal Workers Act."

HB 304/FN/LM (BR 1097) - R. Damron, R. Nelson, K. Bratcher, J. Comer Jr, B. Farmer, D. Ford, S. Lee, R. Mobley, L. Napier, D. Osborne
AN ACT relating to homeland security. Repeal, reenact, and amend KRS 514.160 relating to identity theft to increase the number of pieces of identifying information, include use of false identification to deprive a person of money, obtain employment, hide one's true identity, cause another person to suffer economic loss, defraud another person, or attempt, solicit, or conspire to commit identity theft; create a new section of KRS Chapter 441 to require pretrial release officers to obtain place of birth, citizenship, and related information from prisoners in jail and report the information to the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security and Administrative Office of the Courts; create a new section of KRS Chapter 39G to expand the duties of the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security with regard to immigration, customs, and other homeland security matters; create a new section of KRS 15.380 to 15.404 to permit local and state law enforcement agencies to enter into agreements with the federal government for local enforcement of immigration and customs laws; create new sections of KRS Chapter 337 relating to employment to create definitions for an employee verification program; specify that the employee verification program applies only to businesses that contract or subcontract with government agencies and to government agencies; specify that an employer subject to the act shall verify citizenship, Social Security number, and other required information through the federal E-Verify program within the required time following employment to avoid hiring undocumented aliens; specify that an employer is not required to take any action that the employer believes would violate federal or state law; require an employer to utilize the federal Employment Eligibility Verification program beginning January 1, 2009; require the Department of Revenue to notify employers of the requirements of the employee verification law; create a new section of KRS Chapter 65 to require all local governments and local agencies to comply with the law and permit sharing of citizenship and immigration information as required by law and to prohibit local ordinances or other actions to violate the law; amend KRS 514.170 to conform.

Of course he also feels a need to join Jim Gooch and make it harder for public assistance clients.

HB 190 (BR 318) - M. Henley, L. Napier, K. Bratcher, J. Comer Jr, J. Gooch Jr, B. Montell
AN ACT relating to public assistance. Amend KRS 205.200 to create a substance abuse screening program for recipients of public assistance.

Then there is his need for micro-management of teachers and attempting to do an end run around school prayer. I wonder if he supports a moment of silence for Allah.

HB 363 (BR 1416) - R. Nelson, C. Embry Jr, L. Belcher, T. Burch, D. Butler, M. Cherry, H. Collins, J. Comer Jr, T. Couch, T. Edmonds, R. Henderson, M. Henley, D. Keene, C. Miller, R. Mobley, F. Nesler, C. Siler, D. Sims, A. Smith, J. Stewart III

AN ACT relating to work hours for teachers. Amend KRS 158.070 to specify the number of hours a teacher must work per day, unless changed by the school-based decision-making council; amend KRS 158.649 to conform.

HB 460 (BR 27) - R. Adams, K. Hall, J. Comer Jr, R. Damron, T. Edmonds, C. Embry Jr, J. Higdon, M. Rader, J. Stewart III, A. Wuchner

AN ACT relating to schools. Amend KRS 158.175 to require a moment of silence or reflection not to exceed two minutes at the commencement of each school day.

But never fear he has a solution to higher education problems, bring a gun to school.

HB 114/LM/CI (BR 314) - R. Damron, R. Adams, J. Arnold Jr, E. Ballard, S. Baugh, L. Belcher, J. Bell, K. Bratcher, D. Butler, M. Cherry, H. Collins, L. Combs, J. Comer Jr, T. Couch, W. Coursey, J. DeCesare, M. Dedman Jr, M. Dossett, T. Edmonds, C. Embry Jr, B. Farmer, T. Firkins, J. Fischer, D. Floyd, D. Ford, J. Gooch Jr, J. Greer, K. Hall, M. Harmon, R. Henderson, M. Henley, J. Higdon, D. Horlander, D. Keene, T. Kerr, A. Koenig, S. Lee, Ji. Lee, R. Mobley, B. Montell, L. Napier, R. Nelson, F. Nesler, D. Osborne, T. Pullin, M. Rader, R. Rand, S. Rudy, S. Santoro, C. Siler, D. Sims, A. Smith, B. Smith, J. Stacy, J. Stewart III, G. Stumbo, T. Thompson, J. Tilley, T. Turner, J. Vincent, R. Webb, A. Webb-Edgington, R. Weston, A. Wuchner

AN ACT relating to deadly weapons. Amend KRS 237.115, relating to government control of carrying of concealed deadly weapons, to require universities, colleges, and postsecondary institutions to comply with the provisions of KRS 237.106 and 237.110(17)(b) to ensure that persons may keep firearms in vehicles on university property if they do not remove the firearm from the vehicle; amend KRS 237.110 to conform.

Like I said earlier you have to take a look at the complete body of work to get a feel for a legislator.

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.