WVLK 590 AM's Kruser and Krew program this afternoon reported some of the details printed here that sought to clear up misconceptions perpetuated by state Treasurer Jonathan Miller about the existence of an unfunded liability in the KAPT program.
Miller called in to the program and was put on the air. His stated purpose was to "correct misunderstandings about KAPT" and to counter misinformation that he attributed to Senate President David Williams. Miller has repeatedly referred to the State Senate's effort to phase out the KAPT program as a "raid." What the Senate did, which was clearly explained in the Fiscal Biennium 2004-2006 Budget Modification Report, was to reverse an appropriation of $13,700,100 from the General Fund to the KAPT Program Fund written into the House budget. The stated purpose of this suggested appropriation was to "meet KAPT's unfunded liability." So to be perfectly clear, the $13.7 million in question was a payment from Kentucky taxpayers to the 9000 or so KAPT beneficiaries written into the budget by the House of Representatives. The Senate appropriately removed this "gift" and moved to shut down the money-losing program to potentially limitless liabilities. By statute, current contract holders will see all their promised tuition assistance. The Senate's action merely places a limit on future losses by the program. Mainstream media outlets predictably have given Miller a pass for his poor judgement in lying about this matter by not reporting it. Kentucky Progress salutes WVLK and Kruser and Krew for shedding some light on this event. Miller has chosen to make this a cause celebre, aparently against conservative budgeting. As such, we will keep you updated as Miller continues to protect his misstatements with, one assumes, more lies.
