Scorsone Drives In The Wrong Lane

Sen. Ernesto Scorsone has filed another bill to give drivers licenses to illegal aliens.

West Virginia Zooms Ahead Of Us

While Kentucky is figuring out how to promise education-related goodies we can't afford, West Virginia is setting itself up to kick our butts by simply raising math standards.

West Virginia will require some students who are already in high school -- and everyone, hereafter -- to earn four math credits in four years of high school.

This compares very favorably to Kentucky, where starting next year students will be required to take four math classes in four years but they only have to pass three of them.

Our shocking tolerance for failure here will be of little comfort when even West Virginia is eating our lunch.

Let Me Guess, She Wants More Money For Big Ed

Newly-elected Rep. Alecia Webb-Edgington reaped a benefit this morning of donating $1000 to Steve Beshear when she was appointed to a vice-chair position on the House Education Committee.

She faces Republican Will Terwort in the May primary.

Immigration Showdown At High Noon

There will be fireworks today in the House Judiciary Committee as they take up a discussion of bill that would prohibit sanctuary cities in Kentucky and shut down some employers who hire illegal aliens.

Ron Paul Supporter Takes On Mitch McConnell

Daniel Essek can beat his brains out from here to May and he will lose to Sen. Mitch McConnell in the primary election. Mitch won't break a sweat, but that isn't the point.

The battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party rages on. Mr. Essek clearly isn't ready for prime time, but for a return to fiscal responsibility on the federal level to ever happen it will have to start someplace.

Thanks to tv blogger Mark Hebert for the heads-up.

End The Legislators' Strike

I can't find anyone with a good argument against Sen. David Williams' bill to move the filing deadline to after the end of the General Assembly.

In fact, here is one very active opponent of Republicans in general who is on board. Where are the rest of you?

My only question is will Speaker Jody Richards run this bill through the Labor & Industry Committee since it involves making the lawmakers work for their money an extra month every other year?

Bad Day For The Bald Guy

I'm trying to find a silver lining in the withdrawal of Fred Thompson from the presidential race, but not having much luck.

Any help?

2008: Year Of The Discharge Petition

Committee chairmen can kill bills by not bringing them up for discussion, but sponsors of the University Gun Bill and the Welfare for Drug Abusers Bill easily have the 25 supporters required to call a vote on a discharge petition in the House. If 51 members vote for overriding the committee action, the bill in question goes to the House floor for a vote.

While we are at it, the Ernie Fletcher Revenue Neutral Tax Increase Bill needs a discharge petition as well. And given Harry Moberly's affinity for government secrecy, we might as well go ahead and file one for the Government Transparency Bill.

Associated Press Botches Drug Bill Debate

UPDATE: Here is a little help on this issue from the Bluegrass Institute.

*******************

The Associated Press picked up the bipartisan House effort to encourage drug abusers on welfare to stop using drugs or risk losing their welfare benefits.

The dismissive tone of the article is a little over-the-top, starting with the headline: "Welfare proposal has few fans."

The article fails to mention there are actually two bills (here and here) and only gets around to interviewing one of the sponsors. Napier's version has 27 co-sponsors.

I think what the Associated Press reporter meant was that he and Tom Burch don't like the bill.

Rep. Tom Burch should be the focus of this story for killing a commonsense measure to get people off drugs.

Instead, we get more of the mentality that hasn't worked for decades in fighting poverty or drug abuse:

The measure, House Bill 190, is languishing in the House Health and Welfare Committee. Committee Chairman Tom Burch, D-Louisville, said he doesn't intend to call it up for consideration.

"I don't think it's a good bill, and I don't think the intention behind it is good," Burch said. "Let's get treatment for the person rather than penalize the whole family."

House Republicans should easily be able to peel off enough Democrats for a discharge petition to work on this one. For the record, Napier co-sponsored Henley's bill. Let the Democrat's bill go through and get this done.

Steve Beshear Is No Scab

It is as if the legislators in Frankfort are on strike and Steve Beshear is no scab.

The Lexington Herald Leader reports:

Beshear says his aides are still trying to nail down details of the casino plan and the retirement system reform and that his time is consumed by crafting a budget proposal.

The delay in the unveiling of those policies is practical -- not a political stalling tactic to make it past the candidate filing deadline, Beshear insists.

"It's not geared to the filing deadline, it's simply geared to the fact that right now we're in the middle of putting this budget together," he said. "That's our top priority, obviously, because I've got to do that by the 29th and we're working on these other things at the same time. It's just a product of the time that we've got."

That's bunk. Everyone on Team Beshear has had a pretty good idea details of the casino plan and problems with the retirement plan and crafting a budget proposal were going to be issues for them to work on since last May.

The Governor Steve Beshear-as-slacker routine has everything to do with the January 29 filing deadline.

Giuliani Panders In Florida

As if one Republican presidential candidate with a bad insurance plan weren't enough, Rudy weighs in.

Sing, Sing A Song, Sing Out Loud, Sing Out Strong

Former Lexington Mayor Teresa Isaac will be deposed regarding her role in the Fayette County Detention Center scandal on Friday, January 25 at 9:30 am.

Mayor Jim Newberry is up Tuesday, February 8.

Fayette Jail Scandal Hits The Radio On Monday

Busy Monday morning coming up for me. I will be on the Jack Pattie Show on 590 AM WVLK in Lexington at 9:00 talking about the legislature and Leland Conway's show on 630 AM at 11 AM talking about the scandal at the Fayette County Detention Center.

Anyone with a story to tell about the problems at the jail should email me at kyprogress@yahoo.com.

City of Lexington Buying Bogus Diplomas

I'm doing some research into the "consulting" business Ray Sabbatine and Donald Leach are running out of the Fayette County Detention Center and the taxpayer money they are using to line their own pockets.

Accidentally came across one little goody: Lexington taxpayers paid for Leach's fake doctoral degree.

Big House Democrat Tax Increase Bill

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce send out an email yesterday afternoon claiming Rep. Harry Moberly's HB 302 would increase taxes by up to $200 million a year.

That may be a good guess, but if you look at the bill it isn't hard to imagine it's impact might be much more severe. The bill punishes companies who do business in other states for doing business in Kentucky. Nice plan, Chairman Moberly.

Harry Moberly is one great big reason I won't be sending any of my kids to Eastern Kentucky University.

You Can't Block This

The city of Lexington has ended their feeble attempt to block this blog on city computers.

It is starting to dawn on the folks at 200 East Main Street that the Justice Department investigation and the class action and civil lawsuits aren't just going to go away.

Can't imagine why anyone in the Mayor's office would think they could finesse all this stuff as easily as they can scam the Lexington Herald Leader.

Just ask Ron Bishop, Don Leach, and the boys and girls at the Fayette County Detention Center. They are a little further along the learning curve.

Stroke Of Genius Meets Good Public Policy

Senate President David Williams has filed a bill to move the candidate filing deadline forward to April. This eliminates the problem of legislators sitting on their hands during the first month of the General Assembly and forces legislators to get off the fence about casino gambling before campaign opponents have to file to run against them.

Smoke-Filled Media Bias At Herald Leader

Amazing how the Lexington Herald Leader can watch a parade of House and Senate Democrats chase their tails on the puffery of just one little old cigarette tax increase and see a gathering storm of support in "Cigarette tax hike gains traction."

This story could more accurately be headlined "House Dems fiddle while Frankfort burns."

The newspaper story didn't even mention the one group of cooler heads who have already decided this issue. The Senate Republicans said no tax increase. Well, maybe just one.

Revenues keep going up in Frankfort. Spending keeps going up faster. Raising taxes, it should stand to reason, isn't the answer here. If we really want to take a step in the right direction, we will start talking about transparency in our state government.

Still Looking For Ways To Cut Spending

Since people are going to gamble anyway, there really is no need to allow the state lottery to spend money on advertising or marketing, right?

A Better Idea For Improving Schools

Before attacking House Minority Whip Stan Lee for joining Speaker Jody Richards' effort to limit the state to one charter school -- in Bowling Green, of course -- I called him seeking an explanation.

Rep. Lee says he is working a charter school bill for all the state. That is a very good thing.

Unexpected Twist On Blog Blockergate 2008

Didn't see this one coming.

Sources are reporting that the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government has blocked this website on city computers.

I can't get into it now, but the timing of this cowardly action is VERY interesting. Stay tuned.

And any city workers reading from home who have information about Mayor Newberry's role in the various city scandals or in the mess at the Fayette County Detention Center can reach me at kyprogress@yahoo.com.

Still waiting to hear what the Beshear blog blocking policy will be.

Taking Care Of Their Own

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.

And no, I don't care nearly as much about the Chandler hiring as it is not against the law.

Attorney General Jack Conway, where are you?

Nine Minutes To See What America Needs

Much, much less government spending. Hillary and Obama won't do it. Rudy and Mitt won't either.

The Comptroller General of the United States says we are screwed by 2040, when the federal government will only have the money to operate Social Security and Medicaid. Go back to sleep, though. There is no crisis.

How About A Kentucky Stimulus Package?

Harry Moberly has not just one, but two bills designed to stick it to corporations.

Many of the rest of our legislators are looking for ways to enable more economic opportunity for our citizens.

Like Jim DeCesare.

Rather than work up incentive packages for some companies to do business here, shouldn't we just get rid of corporate taxes and let the government live off the taxes created by the new businesses, new employees, and improved economy?

Paying For Democracy One Addict At A Time

Senate Bill 5, the "Crowded Field Bill" which passed the Senate yesterday should be killed in the House. We can easily pay for the extra elections by enacting this bill.

That Sneaky Obama Is At It Again!

KY Educrats, Your Bathtub Awaits

Education Commissioner Jon Draud, in a letter to Governor Steve Beshear, bemoans the fact that state spending on the Kentucky Department of Education has dropped from $31.7 million in FY 2002 to $24.3 million in FY 2007.

Sounds like we are headed in the right direction.

But this line at the end of the letter takes the cake:

Kentucky has shown real progress over the past decade and a half, and strong, steady funding is the key to maintaining that progress.

Besides the fact "strong, steady funding" is bureaucratspeak for annual funding increases, there is no convincing evidence that public schools have "shown real progress" in recent years or that funding increases are "the key to maintaining" that illusory progress.

Cough Up A Lung On Your Own Dime

Rather than raising cigarette taxes to give politicians more money to play with, wouldn't it be simpler to exclude from receiving Medicaid benefits or state aid anyone who smokes cigarettes or uses tobacco products?

This Isn't The "Taxpayer Transparency" We Need

Rep. Harry Moberly came under intense fire last year for trying to hide more legislative actions behind closed doors. After seeing that, it was surprising to see him file a bill yesterday to open up the secretive "economic development" process by requiring the Cabinet for Economic Development to provide information to the legislature upon request. That could be a good thing.

But you have to read the whole bill, which includes this:

(3) Information that shall be provided upon request includes:
(a) Any information acquired from any records of the Department of Revenue, but excluding the taxpayer's name ...

I don't know about you, but I'm not at all comfortable with the idea of Harry Moberly being allowed to legally pore over my state tax returns with just my name blacked out.

In case you don't get my objection, let me ask you this: how many taxpayers live at your address?

Et tu, Senator Borders?

It was bad enough when House Budget Chairman Harry Moberly filed a bill last week to raise the expensive Limited Liability Entity Tax, but today the Senate Budget Chairman Charlie Borders filed exactly the same bill with his name on it.

You are copying homework off the wrong guy there, Senator Borders.

Now that Republicans are on board, this must be another one of those "revenue-neutral tax increases" we love so much.

If you are keeping score at home, candidate Steve Beshear promised to support repeal -- not expansion -- of the LLET and keeps saying Kentucky doesn't need tax increases.

Are you watching this, Governor?

Putting Governor Steve Beshear To The Test

Why wouldn't Governor Beshear have the courage to sign an executive order Kentuckians of all political stripes want him to sign?

And no, it's not casinos.

Physician, Heal Thyself

What in the world are we doing waiting around for a bunch of career politicians to fix their own pension disaster when all they have done for decades is show a prodigious and embarrassing appetite for gorging themselves on our tax dollars?

First thing, they must repeal this bill. Here's more from BIPPS, including the soon-to-be state legislator with the highest "high three."

Preventing Courier Journal Embarrassment

You have got to the kidding me! Read this, from today's Louisville Courier Journal editorial page:

The current budget crisis is really a test of what legislative independence has become. For more than 30 years, lawmakers pushed for control. Now they have it. But when it comes to the budget, they squander it.

One frustrated legislative staffer recently described how some members operate. He fumed, "Once upon a time, you didn't even have to tell (legislator's name withheld to prevent embarrassment) what was in the budget. Now you have to give him a state park to get him to vote for it."

It's nothing new to see the Louisville Courier Journal (newspaper's name not withheld to maximize embarrassment) carry water for another bloated state legislator, but this is ridiculous and precisely why we need more government transparency than the bloated class wants to allow us now.

He Likes Mike (Huckabee)

Chuck Norris will be on Leland Conway's radio show this morning at 11:35 talking about what he will do to you if you aren't for Mike Huckabee.

You can listen on 630AM WLAP or just click here.

Governor Underwhelmer

Wasn't ANYONE impressed with the Beshear State of the Commonwealth speech?

We Can't Be Broke, We Still Have Checks!

The House Appropriations and Revenue Committee will discuss HB 87 tomorrow. The bill would give $20 million from the General Fund to tobacco farmers.

Who's Your News Daddy?

In our poll-driven world, the news that Fox News has overtaken CNN as a most-trusted news source will upset some people.

Do the math, though, and you will see CNN actually came in third. Number two was my favorite "None of the Above."

Fayette Jail Shake-Up On The Way

The Pepto Bismol is flowing tonight around the Fayette County Detention Center amid intense speculation Director Ron Bishop will be forced out by the end of the month.

It gets better.

Number two man, Deputy Director Donald Leach is coming under fire for consulting work he has done the last couple of years on the strength of a Doctorate in Public Administration degree awarded to him in 2005 from a reputed mail-order diploma mill.

Why Kentucky Needs Independent Blogs

I don't know whether to be totally shocked or well, not, that the Lexington Herald Leader would do an expose on Kentucky jails today and completely ignore the disastrous Fayette County Detention Center in their own back yard.

Chronicles of Blarney

The Louisville Courier-Journal digs into its archives this morning to point out that they knew two years ago that Kentucky was dramatically overspending tax money.

Based on the comments by Fletcher and his budget team, a Courier-Journal story published on April 24, 2006, said:

"Unless the state's economy grows at a much higher-than-normal rate -- and much higher than projected -- lawmakers in 2008 will not have money for teacher raises, university improvements or other funding increases without raising revenue or making painful spending cuts in other areas."

Perhaps they would have been able to find that story faster if their archives from those days weren't loaded up with stories about merit hiring and other much less important issues than blowing tax money.

I Could Have Saved Them The Fifty Cents

The Lexington Herald Leader's Michelle Ku has filed an open records request for FCDC Director Ron Bishop's training records which were reported on here.

Michelle, make sure you look at both copies of the training report -- the one that shows Bishop with a zero and the second one with his name scrubbed off completely to avoid attention.

Kentucky Schools Can't Afford Union Thugs

... or prevailing wage.

Governor Steve Beshear is finding it necessary to dump his other grandiose campaign promises. Now that organized labor leaders helped get him elected, what are they going to do? Vote for a Republican?

Kentucky can't afford to carry these guys around. Unfortunately, Beshear is going to have to submit to the union-ectomy willingly, which is something he shows no signs of being ready for. While we wait, we can take comfort in the fact that his idea of collective bargaining for state employees has already been tossed in the trash.

Pol Brings Dull Pencil To Online Battle Of Words

Rep. Charlie Hoffman makes national news for proposing a very stupid law.

Ed Worley's Tax You More Fund

Polwatchers reports Sen. Ed Worley is ready to increase the cigarette tax to raise revenue rather than focus on cutting spending. I guess it would really be news if Worley, a non-smoker, came out in favor of taxing ill-gotten gains at a higher rate but, until then, maybe some of these big taxers should go for the Tax Me More Fund.

Winning Kentucky's Fiscal Responsibility War

State House members of both parties are already talking about filing a discharge petition to force a floor vote on Rep. Jim DeCesare's bill to repeal the very expensive Limited Liability Entity Tax.

When he was a candidate, Governor Steve Beshear promised to support repeal of the tax.

Beshear Gambling Strategy Exposed

Senator Tom Buford said today Governor Steve Beshear invited him to his office and spoke with him about taking a job in the administration.

Buford refused.

Will it be Beshear the Repealer?

House Leadership yesterday quietly assigned a bill that is very important both politically and fiscally to the Appropriations and Revenue Committee.

House Bill 26 would repeal the Limited Liability Entity Tax, also known as the Alternative Minimum Calculation signed into law by Governor Ernie Fletcher and hated by businesses paying the tax.

And if Governor Steve Beshear is really in a repealing and money-saving mood, he should support the effort to shut down the Treasurer's office, too.

Mortgaging Nonsense in Kentucky

The General Assembly has three bills so far attempting to address a problem with mortgage loans. I can't find much in this, this, or this we wouldn't be better off just leaving alone. In fact, it seems to me that if what we really want to do is make things worse, passing these bills would be a pretty good way to start.

We Have To At Least Get This Right

Everything has a price. When we try to use government to escape that universal truth, we invite unintended problems.

Don't imagine we will do anything good by forcing people to pay more for their car insurance because they have good credit.

A Good Way To Have More Spending Money

Now that the General Assembly and Governor are on the same page about cutting spending (ha!), perhaps they really should look at prohibiting the Kentucky Lottery from spending any of its revenue on advertising.

People are going to gamble anyway, right?

Kathy Stein's Inconvenient Sex Talk

Rep. Kathy Stein wants schools to back off just telling kids not to have sex and instead to give them "science-based" contraception instruction.

Providing Educational Opportunities For A Few

House Speaker Jody Richards wasted no time refiling his bill to legalize Kentucky's illegal charter school at Western Kentucky University.

Come on, guys. Wouldn't it be easier to let all of Kentucky have access to the innovative teaching a handful of students are now getting illegally?

All we have to do is make charter schools legal in the state.

From The "It's About Time" Department

Rep. Lonnie Napier filed a bill today to deny state aid or food stamps to adult drug abusers.

Mayor Newberry, At Least Take His Car Keys

Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry may be content to watch the Fayette County Detention Center melt down under federal investigations and civil lawsuits. But if he is not going to do anything substantial, he should at least park FCDC Director (and Louisville resident) Ron Bishop's city car and let him take care of his own transportation like the employees who don't break the law do.

Did I mention Director Ron Bishop didn't complete ANY of his required 2007 training and then tried to cover it up?

Defining Education Reform For 21st Century

Kentucky's education establishment went ballistic yesterday over the mere suggestion they might have to take less money in the next budget to deliver their mediocre results.

The need to change the way we discuss education reform is not unrelated to the many problems in overcrowded county jails throughout the state.

Bureaucrats may be satisfied with papering over Kentucky's dropout problem, but yesterday's high school graduates -- in large numbers -- are today sleeping on the floor in county jails.

With the current push among the education crowd to shift more resources toward early childhood education, we have what amounts to a crass diversion from real problems in favor of spending on a new program several years removed from accountability.

New laws to force students to stay in school against their will are just the opposite side of the same coin.

We can't afford these games any longer.

Middle school is where we are losing our kids. When they give up in middle school, they too often start using drugs and drop out of high school. These are the people filling up our jails.

We don't need more tax money for teachers unions and bureaucrats nearly as much as we need to concentrate our efforts where they benefit kids more than the bureaucrats.

The People Want To Vote On Cutting Spending

Shutting down the state Treasurer's office as a rest area for politicians is a good thing to be thinking about the night before the 2008 General Assembly starts up.

SurveyUSA Calls Kentucky For Huckabee

...but they left off Fred Thompson and John Edwards from their polling.

Owensboro Gets State Pension Disaster

The levy has broken on the state employee benefits plans and some people are starting to really pay attention.

I'll be impressed, though, when I see pressure to cut back on the healthy slab of pork lawmakers cut for some of their pals back in 2005.

Update: Ashland gets it, too. Keep them coming!

Volunteering For Less

Tennessee may be about to lower part of their state merit scholarship standard to ease up on some of their failing students. They might want to notice, though, Kentucky requires even less of their students than Tennessee is talking about dropping to and gets almost an identical failure rate.

Kentucky policymakers should pay attention to this. It would make a lot of sense to pursue raising the minimum GPA for our college students to keep their KEES awards. As we pursue the lofty goal of doubling our number of college graduates, anything we can do to prevent dumbing-down has to be considered. We might even accidentally incentivize a little less drinking and drug use on campus.

Courier Journal Attacks Steve Beshear

... for not wanting to raise taxes.

Prioritizing our spending is the way out of this. Government transparency is the first step to recovery.

Someone Needs To Wake Up Jim Newberry

Surely it has been too cold for Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry to putter around on golf courses. Perhaps he has been hanging out at bowling alleys or at some of Lexington's "gentleman's clubs" while the city's jail is collapsing under corrupt leadership.

Will someone please, please wake up Mayor Jim Newberry.

We caught Director Ron Bishop earlier this week scrubbing his name off the 2007 FCDC training roster after failing to complete any of the required training.

Well, now the detention center employees union is working on a case to exempt its members who didn't complete their training from any kind of reprimand. The entire basis of their case is that the director didn't get his training, so they can't be punished since he won't be. Sounds like a fine way to risk the safety of the community all in the name of covering Ron Bishop's behind.

Are you getting any of this, Mayor Newberry?

Let's Sell All Our School Buses

We have a state budget crisis, escalating gas prices, and too many parents who aren't involved enough in their childrens' education.

Let's sell off all the school buses and use half the savings to give teachers huge raises. In exchange for the raises, teachers will have to give up tenure and allow their defined benefit pension plan to be converted to defined contribution.

Can Beshear Walk His Talk?

Governor Beshear is saying some good things about spending cuts right now.

The real challenge will be for him to let us help keep him honest with spending transparency. And then he gets to really do something about the state employee benefits disaster.

Presidential Google Search Fun

We all say stupid things sometimes, but Mike Huckabee's mouth will ultimately run him out of his big race.

For just one example, try googling "Huckabee Satan" for an interesting theological discussion.

Jody Richards' Come To Jesus Meeting

I was a guest on the Leland Conway Show this morning, telling Leland about the government transparency movement.

Leland said he will have House Speaker Jody Richards on the program next Tuesday at 10:15 and will ask him about this. There's your heads up, Mr. Speaker.

The Senate needs to get to work on this as well.

BIPPS Offers Pension Mess Advice

The bill with the most lasting impact in the 2008 session hasn't been filed yet and may not be filed. That bill will be the one that seriously addresses the $28 billion public employee benefits emergency.

The Bluegrass Institute's Jim Waters jumps on previous politicians for punting the ball on this and offers commonsense actions:

Irresponsible governance created the under-funded crisis in the first place. The system paid the price for self-serving politicians to fund local pork and win the next election instead of properly funding the retirement accounts.

Now lawmakers – particularly House and Senate leaders – must think beyond short-term political gains that come from doing nothing. If they don’t, we’re looking at either a massive tax increase or a bankrupt commonwealth.

The commission offered some worn ideas on how to shore up the under-funded accounts, including the credit-card approach of borrowing money. But it mentioned nothing about lengthening the time state employees must work before drawing cushy benefits or changing the benefits structure for future hires – two areas that legislators absolutely must address.

We didn’t need a commission to recommend a rope-a-dope approach – including more study, yes, more study! – in order to conclude that requiring employees to work only 27 years before they draw a Cadillac benefits package for life creates a bottomless pit of spending.

You can read the whole thing here. This is the problem that is consuming the Beshear administration right now. It should be.

David's Blue Ribbon Commission On Pensions

We need to quickly phase out the Kentucky Retirement Systems and replace the whole cesspool with index mutual funds.

We need to put all new hires into defined contribution plans and eliminate health insurance for any new non-Medicare retirees not currently in the system.

We need to phase out legislative pensions.

We need to lower the legal limit on executive branch employment to 30,000 jobs and end the practice of double-dipping -- and end the practice of suspending the limit on executive branch employment.

Any other suggestions?

Harry Moberly Hasn't Learned His Lesson

Education commissioner Jon Draud says House Budget Chairman Harry Moberly told him he may be able to bust the Kentucky Department of Education budget in 2009.

Here is the quote (found here):

"Even though we don’t have a good financial picture (for 2008-10), I’m going to be active over there," he said. "(House A&R Committee Chairman) Harry Moberly has promised me that if the economy improves, we may be able to come back in the second year of the biennium for more funding for education."

Now do you see why we really need to be able to watch these people like hawks?

We're Off To See The Kruser

I'll be on Lexington radio this afternoon at 1 pm talking about the upcoming General Assembly. That's 590 on your AM dial and, if you are so inclined, 859-253-5959 is the call-in number.

Putting Their Mouths Where Our Money Is

Every legislator worth a sound bite is talking about being fiscally responsible these days.

I'll believe it when they get rid of the provision of this 2005 law that allows them to resign from the legislature and take a brief stint elsewhere in state government worth a huge pension boost.

The offensive -- and expensive -- goody was slipped in by a Senate committee and approved by a voice vote. Governor Fletcher allowed the bill to become law without his signature.

Several good legislators voted against this. Won't one of them file a bill to repeal it?

Call it the David Williams/J.R. Gray/Steve Nunn/Dan Mongiardo/Harry Moberly/Greg Stumbo bill.

Like Poop In A Sandbox

How many times have you heard that the cover-up is worse than the crime?

Perhaps Fayette County Detention Center Director Ron Bishop would have done well to hear it one more time before he scrubbed his name off the facility's training roster.

You see, Bishop didn't complete ANY of his 2007 required training. And apparently, he didn't want anyone to know about it.

In a city with legitimate leadership, Bishop would be long-since fired.

Time To Audit Big Ed

The hubbub over the Auditor's performance audit of Medicaid has died down. It's now time to do one of the Kentucky Department of Education.

But there's no way I would trust the partisan Auditor to do the job. We need to hire an outside firm for this one. The accounting at KDE is so bad that any honest efficiency report writers would have a field day sorting through their mess.

Throwing (Jerry) Down The Gauntlet

Page One Kentucky promises to lay the smackdown on Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson in 2008 and suggests their information is the reason he didn't get in the race for governor.

Meanwhile, the Lexington Herald Leader wants to see Abramson's running mate, Rep. Ben Chandler, act a little more like Al Gore.

U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler: Follow the path of another Albert. Use your popularity to illuminate inconvenient truths.

Yeah, I'd like to see that too.

Fixing Things In 2008

An income tax on businesses with no income is always going to be a bad idea.

Let's kill it.

And after we do that, perhaps we should reconsider the wisdom of dropping 500,000 low-income Kentuckians from state tax rolls, which we did in the same 2005 bill that created the state AMT. Seems like subsidizing our least productive citizens might be something we would want to target more carefully than that. Our "welfare state" mentality, you must agree, is the biggest thing holding us back. Couldn't we better help those who can't help themselves if we made it a little more difficult for capable people to exist on the dole?

2007 Kaypee Awards

Probably should have thought about this a week ago, but I was inspired today by Bluegrass Roots' Rooties and came up with a name for a Kentucky awards show called the Kaypees.

Time is short to really do it justice, but if you have a funny nomination, have at it. Otherwise, I thought we might take the high road and try to come up with a consensus Best Public Policy Idea/Worst Public Policy Idea for 2008.

Eyes On Arizona

Starting Tuesday, Arizona starts cracking down on employers of illegal aliens. Kentucky has a bill that would do the same thing here.

The Song That Never Ends

One thing that would really inform the present debate about what kind of fiscal shape state government is in would be to put all state government checkbooks online.

Where are all you good government types on this?

The House Democrats should have all kinds of motivation for supporting this. Jody Richards was out there this past week blaming the state shortfall on the national economy, for heaven's sake. If his much hoped for recession doesn't materialize -- or even doesn't materialize soon enough to lend some credibility to his ridiculous assertion -- what will he do?

Face it, big spenders, the cat is out of the bag. Citizen awareness and communication will soon demolish the old way of running Frankfort. Soon Rep. Harry Moberly (Mr. Government Secrecy and Mr. Conflict of Interest) will be the last one operating in the shadows.

Other legislators with better motives had better make sure there is no confusion about which side they are on in this most important battle.

Oklahoma!

The great state of Oklahoma leads the way on government transparency and Kentucky would do very to follow them.

Did I mention we already have a bill?

If you don't like being surprised by details of the state's finances when we change governors, you will probably want to get on board the transparency movement as well.

Saving State Health Dollars

We all agree that having more affordable health insurance would be a good thing. What should be clear, but apparently isn't, is that more competition and wider consumer choice would create a more efficient health insurance market.

In Kentucky, we seem to like to pack our insurers with mandated benefits. This increases costs, pricing more people out of the market. So, rather than address the root cost of the higher prices, we then seek to subsidize those prices with tax dollars. Any economics textbook would tell you this just causes prices to go up further still.

We need to give up the long-running lawsuit against Christian Care Medi-Share and encourage more such providers to come to the state. We need to shut down the ICARE subsidy Governor Beshear wants to expand.

And we need to give insurers more flexibility on which people they agree to insure.

Cut Spending, Have More Money

If we only cut the level of executive branch employment to the legal limit, stopped advertising the Kentucky Lottery, stopped the coal-to-liquid subsidy nonsense and cancelled the Louisville Arena project, we wouldn't have a "budget crisis."

I'm still laughing about Julian Carroll comparing state overspending to getting a car repossessed, but it's probably time we should seriously start talking about what assets the state should sell -- or at least stop leasing.

Beshear's Campaign Promises Dropping Like Flies

In his weekly column, Bluegrass Institute's Jim Waters says if we really want to lower healthcare costs we will push to allow people to buy insurance across state lines and let individuals purchase coverage just like businesses do -- with pre-tax dollars.

Typically, with the Bush vetoes came attempts to label him as the Grinch who stole health care from needy kids. But the president made the right decision.

Bush argued that expanding the program would hurt kids. It would “move children who already have private health insurance to government coverage,” he said.

Buckeye Institute researcher Marc Kilmer agrees: “Kids who would have had better private care will instead be using substandard government care.”

All of this sounds Grinch-like to those with an inclination to expand public programs rather than look for better solutions.

Reality is forcing Governor Steve Beshear to abandon more and more of his pie-in-the-sky plans. Cutting spending and state employee benefits will be the first two dominoes to fall. Casino gambling has no chance in a possible GOP super-majority Senate. Might socialized health insurance be next?

Anybody Up For A Media Appearance?

I will be a guest on the Leland Conway Show tomorrow with guest host Jim Waters. It's on 630 AM or www.wlap.com from nine to noon.

Skippy Miller, Gambling Man

Finance and Administration Cabinet Secretary Jonathan Miller met with the State Tax Increment Financing Commission this afternoon to discuss blowing more state tax dollars on the Louisville Arena project.

He didn't answer any questions, though, about about last spring's Las Vegas vacation he took one week after kissing the ring of soon-to-be casino nominee Steve Beshear and dropping his own bid for governor.

The scandal is in the cover-up, Skippy, not the sex. The real question is not who Miller was bunking with in Vegas, but who he was meeting with to discuss "career options."

Miller will be under a dark cloud until all these questions are answered. It is time for Miller to produce some of these suitors he met with, assuming he can remember them.

Your State Needs More Than Your Mouth

As the General Assembly warms up for its 2008 session, the big spenders really don't have a good reason not to create a "Tax Me More Fund."

The lottery and casinos are supposed to be voluntary as well, aren't they? How are those who don't want to wait in convenience store lines behind ragged, toothless scratch-off buyers and their malnourished, snot-nosed kids or who don't want to risk sitting in a urine-soaked chair going to pay a little extra?

It is only being humane to afford those generous souls the opportunity to avoid these indignities in support of their Commonwealth.

Perhaps Speaker Jody Richards would sign on to this bill if we agreed to send one-third of any contribution directly to foreign casino owners.

Kentucky's Education Odd Couple That Isn't

There is an interesting story in the Baltimore Sun about the Democratic governor in Maryland trying to run off the Republican state superintendent of schools.

Governor Steve Beshear already tried to get the state school board to not hire now-education commissioner (and former GOP state representative) Jon Draud. But while the difference between the two officials in Maryland has some basis in ideological conflict, their Kentucky counterparts seem to have little if anything they disagree about in terms of policy.

The education story for 2008, though, may well be that budget realities force a much tighter fiscal rein on the education establishment and an overhaul of the fraudulent CATS program, something neither Draud nor Beshear would ever be inclined to pursue in fatter economic times.

Specifically, what we need is an outside financial audit from the top of the Kentucky Department of Education to the bottom of the smallest elementary school. A bill to mandate this and to strip the KDE of the ability to grade itself with the CATS testing should be something both parties can get behind.

The education bureaucracy will be much easier to handle when their game is exposed for all to see.

Merry Christmas

It has been a good year writing on this blog. I really appreciate the comments, criticisms, emails, and news tips. The way we get and share information is changing rapidly. I hope this site plays a role in how you stay connected.

David

Help For The Dentally-Challenged

You may have heard about the New York Times/IHT article discussing tooth loss in Kentucky.

Quoted in the article is a Corbin man who illegally provides dentures to people who need them.

It is currently illegal for anyone other than a licensed dentist to provide dentures. There is a bill from Rep. Tom Burch seeking to change this.

Are we actually allowing the private sector to lower a medical cost? Let's hope this idea catches on in Frankfort.

Did I mention this?

Getting Benefits Right Another Beshear Opportunity

The Louisville Courier Journal's David Hawpe gets it right this morning when he calls the effort by the Fletcher administration on public employee benefits weak.

The answer clearly is not the anemic approach suggested last week by a (pale) blue ribbon commission. The truth is, the current system is unsustainable. It must be changed. Future state hires will have to accept the kinds of changes that millions of Americans have had to stomach, as private employers have adjusted their retiree pension and benefit plans.

Empowering a generation of state government employees as a strong goody-getting voting block was never going to work for our fiscal health. Demanding a phase-out of legislator pensions would also help change this culture of self-destruction.

Cutting the benefits won't hurt state government. Not cutting them will bankrupt us. Do the math.

This political gift was wrapped up by Ernie Fletcher last summer when he didn't make the special session about public employee benefits.

For Mayor Jim Newberry's Eyes Only

The meltdown at the the Fayette County jail includes a sexual harassment lawsuit whose mishandling is indicative of the leadership failure in Lexington.

It will be interesting to see if the sexual harassment grievance filed at the Lexington Police Department is managed any differently. (You know, the one regarding the effects of a bullet-proof vest.)

Pinching Pennies

If Governor Steve Beshear is looking for new ways to save money -- and he'd better be -- he should get rid of the law that requires government entities to publish public notices in local newspapers.

It's much cheaper to put them online. The Kentucky Press Association already has a website set up.

Any other ideas?

Dissenting Comments On A Blog Make It Better

I don't know when the Louisville Courier Journal will start deleting unfriendly blog comments like some other newspaper's political blog. Maybe they just haven't seen this yet.

McCain Is Not Going To Win KY Primary

SurveyUSA did a presidential poll but left off Fred Thompson.

Highlighting A Good Gun Bill

Theres's a lively discussion on Kentucky Votes about Rep. Bob Damron's new gun bill.

Ben "Tax Man" Chandler Strikes Again

Rep. Ben Chander voted late yesterday joined 63 hardy tax-raisers in the U.S. House of Representatives in voting against the commonsense Alternative Minimum Tax "patch" that will save 22 million middle-class Americans from the punishing tax in 2008.

Just One Goal

The Lexington Herald Leader jumps on the Fletcher administration's handling of the Medicaid program this morning.

You'd think someone would be keeping track of whether reforms affecting all that money (for fiscal year 2006, about $1 billion from Kentucky's General Fund and $3.3 billion in federal funds) was being spent effectively.

You'd think wrong. Neither the cabinet administering the program nor the governor's office to which it answered nor the legislature that passed the budgets funding the program seemed to know what was going on.

The politics of this is very much beside the point.

The only way to gain anything from this is to recognize the need for greater transparency in our government agencies. There is already a bill, pre-filed by a House Republican, that starts to address this issue. Rather than just kill it for partisan reasons, House Dems should expand it.

Medicaid's accounting issues are miniscule compared to the public employee benefits programs that have been allowed to go underfunded for decades. Now everyone is starting to pay attention because the black hole we have there threatens to swallow up the entire state.

Both of these problems -- and many others -- will benefit from a full-court press toward putting all the state's checkbooks online.

I Thought The Other Guy Was The Flip-Flopper

Double Dipper Dan v. AG Steve Beshear ('81)

The citizens of the 30th Senate district in Bell, Harlan, Leslie, and Perry counties would have a new state senator today if Governor Steve Beshear had called the special election on November 9 when Senate President David Williams made the request.

As it is, a special election for the seat can not now be held before the end of January. Double-Dipper Dan should do the right thing and insist Governor Beshear do his part to ensure the people in his district have the representation they deserve.

Governor Beshear really does understand the need to protect citizens on issues like this. Well, sometimes. He understood it when he wrote the following Attorney General's opinion in 1981, in which he ordered legislative staff not to mail but to hand deliver the Writ of Election for a special election.

As the Court pointed out in the case of Furste v. Grey, 240 Ky. 604, the framers of the Constitution had in mind that vacancies in the General Assembly shall not continue but should be filled immediately in the manner provided by the legislature.

Thus, because of the urgency for filling the vacancy in question so that the residents of the 75th Legislative District will be properly represented at the earliest possible time following the beginning of the Session starting on January 5, it is suggested that the Writ of Election be issued on January 1st and hand delivered rather than mailed, to the sheriff.

Governor Beshear also recognized this necessity when he elevated Rep. J.R. Gray to Labor Cabinet Secretary last week and immediately called the special election. He understood the need to call a special election right away. Why doesn't he get it now?

The $14 Million Jonathan Miller Subsidy

Wouldn't it be great if you could spend state tax dollars promoting your latest great idea? Wouldn't it be even better if you could go back every year and get a huge government check when your great idea blew up in your face again and again?

Governor Steve Beshear's hand-picked Finance and Administration Cabinet Secretary-designate Jonathan Miller has a $14 million check coming from the state's General Fund to fill the current year's hole in the KAPT program.

Heckuva job, Johnny.

Fiscal Time Bomb Still Ticking

There is really only one thing that matters in Kentucky right now and that is what we need to do now to survive a full-blown crisis in our state employee benefit plans.

It is nearly impossible to exaggerate this disaster. The best analogy I can think of is that we are on the Titanic and can only avoid getting sunk by the iceberg if we start turning now.

We are nearly $30,000,000,000 short in the funds we use to write pension checks and pay health benefits for state government workers. If we don't raise taxes, -- and we can't afford to raise taxes -- we are going to have to cut spending. A lot. There is no other way around this and if the people don't start screaming about it now we will see, within ten years, employers fleeing the state and leaving a real mess behind them.

And we can't fund our state government on Social Security checks.

What this will take is radically changing the way we look at state government. We are going to have to get out of providing a lot of services we have gotten used to. We will have to cut out a lot of programs.

Our bloated and inefficient school system might be a good place to start with a surgeon's knife. Did you know that no other state has a higher percentage of non-teacher school employees than Kentucky? If we start there and then eliminate most of the Kentucky Department of Education we will be heading in the right direction.

Then we need fewer state employees and we need them to stop retiring from one government job only to take another. Did you know only fourteen states have more state and local government employees per 10,000 people than Kentucky does? Kentucky has a law limiting the number of state employees to 33,000 but every two years the legislature votes itself an exemption from this law. In January they are going to do it again unless we make them stop it. Ask your Senator or Representative why he or she thinks government can't get by with less when the rest of us have to sometimes.

If you want your children to be able to live in Kentucky ten or fifteen years from now, you will take this threat very seriously.

I Guess We Know Results Of Stumbo Poll

Now we know what a political hit job looks like. Rep. Brandon Spencer just last week was filing a bill to line his own pockets with Medicaid money and now he is resigning quietly so Greg Stumbo can have a job.

Could Jody Richards be the one quaking in his boots this morning?