Hyperbolic Bluff

The Herald-Leader editorializes on the hyperbolic bluff by President Michael McCall of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.

McCall warned that the council's action, on top of a 6 percent cut in state funding, would produce a revenue crisis and require reducing enrollment by 6,000 students……

The budget for KCTCS central administration is as large as that of the largest community college. There have to be efficiencies there that can be achieved without barring access to instruction.

I think what the Herald-Leader is trying to say, in a somewhat diplomatic way, is that a guy who has a salary and benefit package of $610,000 is threatening to screw the students he is supposed to be educating because he is not getting the pet projects he wants.

This is a perfect example of reason number three for the problems in Higher Education in Kentucky.

Serving the Pork

Let’s take a minute to look at how politicians pass out the pork.

Here is a press release from the Governor’s office.

Gov. and Mrs. Steve Beshear today launched Kentucky’s Adventure Tourism initiative in Knott County. This plan opens more areas of the state as tourist destinations for biking, hiking, camping, boating, fishing, hunting, off-roading and horseback riding.

“Here in Kentucky we can offer wilderness, with the Daniel Boone National Forest, the Cumberland Mountains, the Red River Gorge and a set of lakes and rivers unmatched by any other state,” said Gov. Beshear.

Kentucky’s Adventure Tourism initiative allows the state to enter into agreements with private property owners for the public use of land for outdoor activities without fear of facing liability issues.

This all sounds good right, more tourism, more money for economically distressed county, good public relations for the Governor and maybe a few bucks for private property owners.

But I’m not sure how this really works. You see, this program looks to be a legacy from the Fletcher administration. The Kentucky Flex-E Grant Program for implementation of the comprehensive Adventure Tourism Plan for economically distressed ARC Counties has been around since fiscal year 2006.

The money is administered by GOLD (Governor’s Office for Local Development) these are the waiters in the pork passing process.

According to the application guidelines the only entities eligible to apply for Kentucky Flex-E Grants are:

• Local units of government (including special districts, area development districts (ADDs), school districts) and post secondary education institutions in or serving distressed Appalachian Kentucky counties.

• Non-profit organizations and citizen groups located in or serving distressed counties which have an on-going mission and an established, administrative organization that supports pursuit of the mission.

I don’t see the local property owners being involved unless they are part of the local political power structure, like say the Knott County Fiscal Court.

I don’t know if the Adventure Tourism Park System, in Knott County, is involved in this little pork passing exercise? But it looks like it could be.

We Make Things Happen Corporation, in partnership with Summit Engineering, Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon and Economic Research Associates have been commissioned by Knott County Fiscal Court to assist in developing an Adventure Tourism Park System made up of a series of trails throughout the county.

Now I know it is probably only coincidence that folks that work for Summit Engineering, according to the Registry of Election Finance, have donated $86,800.00 to various political candidates, including Steve Beshear.

And I’m sure that by spending money with one company that as most of it’s’ offices in Tennessee and Alabama and another company with it’s' office in Los Angeles that those bucks will be churning through the economy.

And who could possibly question spending money with a Mom and Pop operation in Bowling Green whose references include Frankfort bureaucrats?

Doesn’t this whole thing just smell a little funny? Talk about a piece of government accounting that looks like it needs a financial audit.

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

Rancid Pork Belly

How much pork does it take to feed the Kentucky General Assembly?

According to the Herald-Leader it’s about $80 million.

When the state spending bill for education and health programs appeared doomed earlier this month, legislative leaders turned to an old standby to entice support from more lawmakers:

projects.

And lots of them.

The result was $80 million worth of buildings, park improvements, water and sewer lines, sheriff's vehicles, fire trucks, baseball fields and programs such as abstinence education spread
across 38 mostly rural counties in Eastern and Western Kentucky.

The details are listed in House Bill 410.

So I wondered what the money was being spent on. Below are about $6 million of the projects.

Bell County Fiscal Court - Projects and/or Equipment $1,100,000

City of Middlesboro - Projects and/or Equipment $115,000

City of Pineville - Projects and/or Equipment $70,000

Breathitt County Fiscal Court - Breathitt County Museum - Welcome Center $150,000

City of Jackson - Parks and Recreation $100,000

Daviess County Fiscal Court - Downtown Development Projects - Incentives – Operational Expenses $331,935

Daviess County Fiscal Court - Economic Development Projects - Incentives - Operational Expenses $327,198

Floyd County Fiscal Court - Develop New Mud Creek Park $150,000

Floyd County Fiscal Court - Develop Veteran's Cemetery $100,000

Floyd County Fiscal Court - Mountain Top Recreational - Repair - Upkeep - Maintenance $400,000

Floyd County Fiscal Court - Wayland Sports Hall $100,000

Floyd County Fiscal Court - World War II and Korean Memorial $30,000

Hancock County Fiscal Court - Various Projects $186,102

Harlan County Fiscal Court - Adventure Tourism $316,000

Harlan County Fiscal Court - Tri-City Little League – Lights $60,000

Henderson County Fiscal Court - To Promote Tourism for the Rivers and Waterways of Henderson County $10,000

Hopkins County Fiscal Court - Hopkins County Sports Complex – Site Development and Improvements $225,000

Hopkins County Fiscal Court - Sports Complex - Site Development and Improvements $ 300,000

Knott County Fiscal Court - Appalachian Artisan Center $500,000

Knott County Fiscal Court - Bond Payment - Equipment/Improvements – Sportsplex $1,400,000

Do you really think that throwing money at these projects justifies screwing the educational system and social programs in this state?

This bill and the budget passed by the General Assembly is more about a group of politicians spreading political spoils and staying in office than anything else.

The Bloom is Off the Rose

Some thoughts on Herald-Leader story on the lack of raises at the University of Kentucky.

According to the story the average faculty salary at UK in 2006 was $76,065.

Below are charts on some median salaries and wages in Kentucky from PayScale.com.

The Herald-Leader also provided a link to searching the salaries paid to UK employees. So let’s take a look at the folks making comments in this story.

“The staff feel like they've been abused and abandoned," said Terry Olson, a computer specialist in the College of Agriculture and a leader in efforts to get UK employees to join a union.

Olson makes $44,480 per year.

Megan Cox, the head of UK Employees United, a labor-organizing effort, said the "proposal of no raises is a bit harsh."

"People have been beaten down or marginalized so often it's hard to give people hope," said Cox, a disability program specialist in UK's Human Development Institute. "I think staff and faculty at the university are used to being on the bottom rung."

Cox makes $42,924 per year.

(UK President Lee) Todd was out of the country and unavailable to comment, UK spokesman Jay Blanton said Wednesday.

Now Jay Blanton doesn’t show up on the salary search data base, but Jonathan Blanton, Public Relations/Marketing Executive Director does show up.

Blanton, I assume it’s the same guy, makes $104,820.

But Todd's second-in-command, Provost Kumble R. Subbaswamy, said that two straight years of no raises "will not be tolerable."

Subbaswamy makes $275,000 per year.

“We've had years with no raises before," said Kaveh Tagavi, an engineering professor and chairman of the UK Senate Council. "But if there are no raises for two years, it definitely slows down the gain, especially if you are on the path to the Top 20."

Tagavi makes $96,490 per year.

Jay Perman, dean of the UK medical school, said "there isn't any way to paper over" the effect of no raises, especially when employees face a rise in the cost of living, "and not for the frilly stuff."

Perman said UK has been creating excitement, but the new budget "sort of takes the bloom off the rose."

Perman makes $535,664 per year.

The bloom may be off the rose, but I think these ivory tower inhabitants are going to have a tough sell to get the rest of Kentucky’s wage earners to feel real sorry for them.

Taxing Students

Looks like Lee Todd will have to do what the General Assembly lacked the political will to do.

Raise Taxes

From the Courier-Journal:

The University of Kentucky yesterday proposed raising in-state tuition by 9 percent next year, increasing the amount incoming freshmen would pay each semester by $319.75, to $3,867.75.

You can call it a tuition increase if you want, but it is a tax increase on students and their families.

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.

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."

Amateur Night

This has to be one of the dumbest political moves I seen lately. What was Jim Newberry thinking? Who told him this was a good idea?

If you are going try to do this sort of thing then you better have a majority of the Council behind you and the police and firefighters should at least be neutral to the idea.

You are never going to get our elected representatives to step out in front of an issue like this unless you have all the other ducks lined up.

Jim, I sorry Bud, but this was a dumb idea and makes you look like a political amateur.

Members of the Fayette County legislative delegation on Monday appeared opposed to Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry's proposal for the city to take control of the retirement benefits for police officers and firefighters hired after July 1.

Before a packed room of more than 110 current and retired Lexington police officers and firefighters, the lawmakers questioned the effect such a change would have on current employees and retirees, whether the Urban County Council supported the measure and whether police officers and firefighters were involved in the decision.

Legislators were most critical about the timing of the proposal -- brought to them with just eight days left in the session -- and the opposition of both the Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Wet Noodle Anyone?

Steve Beshear steps up one more time for Brereton Jones and his coalition of needy horse farm owners.

House Democratic leaders have two days to whip up support for a casino amendment or go bust.

Gov. Steve Beshear met with House Democrats for less than 10 minutes Monday afternoon after launching his "final push" to get legislation to expand gambling on the November ballot….

The Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper, executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches, compared the rally to "whipping a dead horse with a wet noodle."

You know I really can’t think of anything to add to Rev. Kemper’s comment, it says it all.

Senate Budget Plan

Some thoughts on the Senate Budget plan:

The Good:

A good start on Prison reform:

Removing 2,000 non-violent state inmates from county jails through home incarceration, saving an estimated $24 million a year. The House had proposed removing about 400 inmates.

Stealing from the Numbers Game:

Kentucky Lottery Corp. to contribute 35 percent of its revenue to the General Fund, up from 26 percent last year.

From the Lottery Post Kentucky Lottery has record revenues:

The Kentucky Lottery Corp. had a record $744 million in revenues, or total ticket sales, in the fiscal year ending June 30, according to year-end figures.

The Bad:

We rather pay for have kids smoke, pay for cancer related medical expenses, and screw the budget instead of raising a tax. Damn Grover Norquist.

…rejected the Democratic-controlled House's proposals to raise the cigarette tax from 30 cents to 55 cents per pack and to apply the state's 6 percent sales tax to a few services, such as chartered flights

Screw the employees, a time honored method of balancing the budget.

Raising the pay of all state workers, including teachers and court workers, by 1 percent in each year of the biennium. The House's budget had provided 2 percent annual raises for most state workers and a 1 percent raise for teachers in the first year, followed by a 3 percent raise in the second year.

They are only the most defenseless in society, who cares they don’t vote.

Providing $41 million less for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services than the House's proposed budget. The Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation was cut $9.4 million over the biennium, while the Department of Community Based Services, which includes social workers, lost $7 million

The Ugly:

Sucking up to the military vote:

Providing a tax rebate on military pay. Military members could apply for a refund of their state income tax, beginning later this year. The Senate appropriated $10 million to pay for the program, but recent legislative estimates have suggested the program could cost $18 million a year.

Counting on things that aren’t going to happen:

The Senate also adopted a proposal in the House's proposed budget that would eliminate nearly 10 percent of the state government work force through attrition, saving an estimated $85 million annually.

Where the hell are the rest of the Democrats in the Senate?

Democratic Sens. Ernesto Scorsone of Lexington and Julian Carroll of Frankfort voted against the bill.

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.

All Politics are Personal

A well DUH moment from David Williams, from the Courier-Journal:

Senate President David Williams yesterday accused Rep. Harry Moberly of ramming Eastern Kentucky University projects into the state budget during closed-door conference committee meetings.

Moberly, D-Richmond, is the chairman of the House budget committee and a high-ranking official at EKU.

"I've been at the conference table in the conference many times when he has stood up to have things added for EKU in the budget," Williams, R-Burkesville, said in a session with reporters. "If he doesn't get what he wants in the budget nobody else is going to get what they want in the budget, or other people can't get things for UK or U of L if he doesn't get what he wants in the budget."

Who in their right mind would ever think that Harry Moberly, the most powerful person in relationship to the budget, wouldn’t have an agenda? Did you think EKU made him the Executive Director of Administration because of his good looks? Maybe his years of protecting his University had something to do with it. Of course Harry is going to take care of EKU.

Williams is whining because he doesn’t have total control of the budget. This is called compromise, you get some of what you want and I get some of what I want. Williams just doesn’t play well with others and wants to get back a Moberly for killing the Republican backed bill to eliminate the CATS test in public schools.

With Williams, all politics are personal.