Max Cleland's Head Games

Turns out Ben Chandler wasn't the only Dem to step back from a rematch yesterday. Former U.S. Senator from Georgia Max Cleland also announced he will not take on the Republican who beat him in 2002.

But Cleland's excuse was really good.

From the AP story, Cleland "has acknowledged battling depression and said recently he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, possibly prompted by violence in Iraq triggering memories of Vietnam."

These people have no shame.

Which Cheap Dem Will It Be?

Rep. Ben Chandler was quoted widely yesterday saying the Governor's office was "cheapened" so he didn't want it.

One interesting thing is that Steve Henry has been excoriated in the MSM for his inability to land a running mate, while no such attacks have been launched against AG Greg Stumbo who is so "cheapened" already he not only can't find a running mate, he has party leaders in Frankfort very actively trying to talk him out of running.

I-CARE Giveaway Greeted With A Yawn

Earlier this year the General Assembly put $20 million in the budget to subsidize purchase of health insurance for small business. It was a glimpse into what socialized healthcare will look like in this country: you pay for your own health coverage and your tax dollars go to pay for everyone else.

The good news is that we aren't going to wind up spending much of the money. Less than 500 individuals are in the program now after a month of accepting applications and six months of promotion prior to that.

Applications for the subsidy are trickling in, but it is very likely that when the program sunsets at the end of the biennium, much of the $20 million will remain unspent. Good.

We still have a screaming need for real insurance reform in this state. Regulation should be reduced to three words: follow your contract. If we stopped telling insurance companies how to write their contracts and focused oversight on ensuring that companies kept whatever promises they made in their contracts, costs would go down and we wouldn't need $20 million for subsidies that are too small for people to bother signing up for.

It's Hot In The Kitchen

The race for Governor gets stirred up today and the candidates will be frying each other very soon.

Casinos will be a hot-button issue. What else do you want to hear them talking about?

Make Legislators More Accountable, Not Less

We need to look at ways to make our legislators more accountable for their actions. Instead, we keep trying to go in the other direction.

Before extending the terms of Reps. from two years to four and Senators from four years to six, let's at least cut down or eliminate legislative pensions, put limits on bonding for projects, make the entire budget meetings process open to public view, and make committee votes available on-line the day they take place.

In fact, let's do all these good things and then leave the length of terms where they are.

Minimum Wage Math Made Easy

The current proposal to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 represents a liability for a business owner of $84 a week per employee or $4200 for a 50 week year.

Imagine you have a small store with ten minimum wage employees and your government is telling you that your labor expenses for the same people doing the same work is about to go up nearly $50,000 -- don't forget about the Social Security taxes.

What are you going to do? How many more hamburgers are you going to have to sell just to break even? Remember that you don't just need to make $50,000 more, you will need to make $80,000 more because you have to pay taxes yourself.

Maybe you don't own a small business.

If you depend on a small business with minimum wage employees for anything, are you willing to absorb the higher prices they will be forced to pass along? If you cut back on your spending even a little bit to compensate for the increases, the business owner's math gets even harder to justify.

Fortunately for the economy, not too many businesses rely on workers right at the minimum wage. Those who do usually hire teenagers or people who don't have a family depending on their income. Pricing those people out of the economy will also not have a terribly huge negative impact on the economy.

But this does absolutely nothing to alleviate the ravages of poverty. Nothing at all. It's just a tax increase on small business and a small-time job destroying initiative. And it is the top item on the agenda for our new Congress.

Aren't you proud?

Drooling, Forgetful Richmond Register

The Richmond Register is pretty excited to hear Sen. Ed Worley might be running for higher office.

Maybe they forgot about Worley getting caught lying on tape in his ongoing fraud lawsuit.

Mitch Caves On Minimum Wage

We've been listening all year to politicians telling us raising the minimum wage will help combat poverty, yet there is no evidence to suggest that it actually will. In fact, the evidence suggests real poor people are harmed by government price-fixing of wages.

Apparently that is enough to convince Senator Mitch McConnell to go ahead with the plan to raise the minimum wage anyway.

How are we ever going to improve the direction of our nation if we continue to give in on feel-good, sound-good nonsense like this?

Bush Likes Estonia Flat Tax

With Congress looking to position itself as an agent of change, could implementing a flat tax be the ticket to a positive bipartisanship?

I would take it.

Keeps Going, And Going, And Going, And ...

Are you really surprised to see the merit hiring fiasco isn't dead yet?

"I Don't Pay Taxes, My Husband Does"

Talking to a large number of people one-by-one can be very interesting. That's why Jay Leno's "Jay Walking" feature is so popular. A lot of people know very little about a wide variety of topics. Put them on the spot and they say funny things.

Such was the case when a FairTax volunteer spoke to passers-by at the Oklahoma State Fair. The most commonly expressed thought was "That would be great but it will never happen."

That sentiment is understandable. Most people who honestly consider the Fair Tax agree it would be a huge improvement over the current system. Doing it right requires amending the Constitution to repeal all income taxes, which is a tall order.

But apathy is a luxury we can hardly afford on the subject of taxation in America. Nonetheless, apathy and ignorance explain why we are talking about "fixing" our economy with a minimum wage increase when there are real issues begging for attention.

Anyway, the best line from the Oklahoma State Fair came from a lady who blissfully turned away from the FairTaxers saying "I don't pay taxes, my husband does."

The more you understand about the Fair Tax, the funnier that is.

Courier Journal Gets Safety Right

Some Kentucky social workers are hot on the idea that tragedy among their ranks should lead directly to money in their pockets.

In a pleasant surprise, the Louisville Courier-Journal understands that safety measures represent a more effective solution to safety concerns than piles of borrowed pension cash.

Eight More Years Of Nothing

While the world seemingly waits for Rep. Ben Chandler to announce he would like to spend more time with his family, some people are actually speculating about Treasurer Jonathan Miller running for Governor. Looking at the last eight years in the Treasurer's office, I am reminded that the best thing we can do for the next eight years and beyond is to fold that office into the Finance and Administration Cabinet where it belongs and where its limited duties can be performed for less money.

Providing do-nothing jobs for politicians seems to be a major role of the modern-day taxpayer, but if we can knock this one down, perhaps we can find a few others worthy of elimination.

Bush Screws Up Hurricane Season

In a terrible blow to Al Gore's presidential aspirations, the end of the world has failed to materialize this fall. Still waiting for the New York Times to find a way to attack the President, though, in the face of the mildest hurricane season since 1997.

Another Good Health Reform Idea

The only people who deny the efficacy of Health Savings Accounts anymore are those who hunger for HillaryCare.

If you are healthy enough and can afford to fund one, they are terrific. If your health prevents you from qualifying, help may be on the way.

Here is a good suggestion for expanding HSA's.

Good Job By WaPo On Medicare Drug Story

The Washington Post sheds welcome light on the Medicare prescription drug story. The Bush administration deserves all the blame for not selling the "success" of the plan. Democrats' will fix it by making it worse, as the story suggests. As much as I wish the new benefit had coincided with some benefit cuts in the rest of Medicare, now is the time to support the current plan rather than the Al Gore plan they want to stick us with now.

Bluegrass Institute Takes Swipe At Fletcher

All the states surrounding Kentucky have better business tax climates than we do, according to The Tax Foundation. West Virginia is next-to-last.

The Bluegrass Institute points out West Virginia is at least moving in the right direction.

Seniors Shacking Up For The Money

The looming crisis in Social Security should not necessitate the current policy that reduces payments to recipients who get married.

Selling Socialized Medicine As Corporate Welfare

It looks like what is left of America's Big Three automakers wants to build support in Washington D.C. for a scheme that would shift a chunk of their health insurance costs to taxpayers.

Brilliant. A Detroit bail-out is just what we need right now.

In fact, what we really need is for newly empowered Congressional Democrats to be cramming this stuff down our throats as some kind of compromise between market-based reforms and Canadian-style government health insurance.

Shifting health insurance costs to taxpayers as a way to somehow magically save money just doesn't make sense at all.

Hybrid Scholarships A Bad Idea

Merit scholarships go to students with certain accomplishments. Need-based scholarships go to students with limited means. Some people in Minnesota want to set up a taxpayer-funded merit scholarship that will direct $50 million a year to pay low income students to get good grades in college prep high school courses.

It's a recipe for college tuition inflation. They might just save the $50 million and print up a graph depicting how much more money college graduates make than those who fail to earn degrees. Show the graph repeatedly to middle school kids.

Save the money. Inspire some kids. Call it a day.