Might Kentucky sell itself to Tennessee?

Michigan doesn't have to worry about overspending its treasury for a little while longer after Vice President Joe Biden's $2 billion handshake on Friday.



This is a very bad plan, of course, but that won't stop anyone. California will be next and Illinois can't be far behind them. Rather than inspire Frankfort to really cut back on its own insatiable appetite, this action will only generate worse ideas. In this insane time, who would really be surprised to see us join up with another state to reach a similar "too big to fail" status?

Dems in disarray on socialized medicine

In his latest fundraising appeal, Howard Dean can't decide if he should be attacking Democrats or Republicans for not playing along with the government takeover of medicine in America plan.



He should probably be attacking both, which really clarifies what his problem is. Notice that Dean points out the latest "Republican" tactic, which has been primarily championed by U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad, a Democrat.

And supporters of socialized medicine in Kentucky should be yelling at Rep. Ben Chandler, who has clearly staked out positions on both sides of the issue in Washington D.C.

And while you are yelling, check out Ben's new fiscal responsibility web site.

Wasting time and money in Frankfort

The Kentucky House budget committee will meet Tuesday in the Capitol Annex at 1 pm to discuss casinos.

That will be right after the anti-casino rally in the Capitol's Rotunda, which starts at noon. Casino supporters in the state simply haven't done enough to answer the concerns of open-minded opponents and they will hear about it tomorrow.

It probably doesn't matter, though. The same cast of characters will be back next year with a somewhat different pitch. Figuring out a way to do what they want without creating more wasteful, less accountable government should be the top priority.

But it won't be.

What about our cultural heritage of not spending our state government into oblivion?

Send a letter to Gov. Steve Beshear complaining about wasteful government spending and the casino gambling scheme and you will receive a form letter printed on very handsome stationary at your own expense.

Another thing Chandler, Yarmuth didn't read

When Spendocrats in Washington D.C. rushed to pass the stimulus bill without actually knowing what it said, they missed an opportunity to find out if it jived with other entitlement programs.

Newsflash: it didn't.

"That's kind of a black hole..."

Rep. Bill Farmer discussed Kentucky's overspending problem and how the federal "stimulus" money not only doesn't help, but reinforces Frankfort's bad behavior:



Farmer spoke Saturday morning in Lexington at Hilton Suites for the Fayette County GOP June breakfast.

Freedom movement won't die

WLAP radio's Leland Conway spells it out.

Live Blog Trey Grayson

Beginning his speech to the monthly Fayette GOP breakfast, Sec. of State Trey Grayson spoke in favor of Rep. Bill Farmer's tax reform proposal.

Good stump speech for someone starting a high-profile statewide campaign -- biographical, engaging, funny.

Said his Secretary of State office budget is ten percent lower than than when he entered office, despite many innovations. Said he has used cross-training to allow employees to work a four-day week without losing productivity. Spoke about clashing with and defeating then-Attorney General Greg Stumbo in a voter fraud case. Spoke about Attorney General Jack Conway dragging his feet on his AG opinion on gambling expansion.

Spoke in opposition to socialized medicine, calling the "public option" ruse a first step in that direction.

"Universal coverage is not necessarily a bad thing, but universal government coverage is a bad thing."

Spoke against the "cap and trade tax."

He also said "I think in our state we would welcome a nuclear power plant."

"I'm looking very seriously at this (U.S. Senate) race and I think next month will be a pivotal month in that decision."

Said that the key to economic growth in Kentucky involved straightening out the tax code and improving education.

Rep. Bill Farmer jumped in here and spoke about the waste of money in the school systems, mentioning the Kentucky Department of Education "black hole" caused by the problems with the MUNIS accounting system.

Beshear wilts and it isn't even hot yet

Has Gov. Steve Beshear caved in and cancelled his Special Session Waste party at taxpayer expense originally set for Monday June 15? It looks that way, since the afternoon party isn't on his schedule released late Friday. It says he will be "in office" all afternoon.



Now get in there, redo the phony budget, and shut down the session. Or, as Sen. Damon Thayer suggested, repeal prevailing wage and then leave.

Dan and Jack sizzle, fizzle, and tax

Page One reports on a campaign appearance by U.S. Senate candidate Daniel Mongiardo. Apparently, Mongiardo forgot he was supposed to run to the left to win the Democratic party's nomination:


There's no way to know if Mongiardo seriously opposes cap and tax legislation, but he surely wouldn't be allowed to oppose it as a freshman Senator in Pres. Barack Obama's Washington D.C.

Wonder what Jack Conway has to say about these important issues? Jack?

If Massachusetts can get this right...

In a search for examples of good government, Massachusetts is not usually going to provide much guidance. But one provision in a public employee pension reform bill their legislature passed unanimously Thursday could help Kentucky.

What they did was repeal a big pension enhancement for former legislators. Kentucky currently allows former legislators who go to work in a higher paying government job to switch their pension credit for time in the General Assembly so they get benefits as if they were in the higher paying job all along.

We're already $30 billion in the hole on Kentucky's public pensions. This would be a good place to stop digging.

Feds tell Kentucky to pass charter school law

Heading into a special session originally called to balance the budget, but that has quickly turned into a big mess with a wide variety of issues lacking consensus, Gov. Steve Beshear may be missing a signal from federal officials about another key topic.

Earlier this week, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said:

"States that do not have public charter laws or put artificial caps on the growth of charter schools will jeopardize their applications under the [$4.35 billion] Race to the Top Fund."

Kentucky's Senate Education Committee Chairman Ken Winters, a long-time school-choice advocate, expressed hope that strong federal support may help break resistance to such improvements in Frankfort.

"I think we are getting more momentum on this," Winters said.

House Education Committee Chairman Carl Rollins wasn't enthusiastic, but nevertheless suggested the time for real discussion of the issue may be at hand.

"I'm not a fan of charter schools, but it's worth a look and the money might make it worth a second look," Rollins said.

The expanded opportunities available to charter school students are currently only available to only a precious few:

Socialized medicine death spiral

The Radical Left is taking aim at moderates who aren't ready to destroy the Democratic Party over President Obama's health insurance reform. This is a good thing.



Obama and a minority of Congressional radicals really think wiping out the private sector with a taxpayer subsidized "public option" is the way to lower healthcare costs. Wow. That just doesn't make any sense at all. The ironic thing is that if they would just set aside their hatred for capitalism long enough to restore some free market principles to the healthcare marketplace, they would get the lower costs they say they want.

My parties will be better

In a tribute to his own tone-deafness, Gov. Steve Beshear is going to throw a big party at the Mansion for his friends next Monday, the first day of his wasteful special session. The party is set to start as soon as the legislature adjourns for the day.

You probably aren't invited. But if it's any consolation, you get to pick up the tab.

That's okay, Governor. I'd rather come up to the Rotunda the following day (Tuesday) at noon for a taxpayer rally with my friends. And then I'll be back Wednesday at noon on the Capitol steps with more friends interested in providing a contrast to the continued waste, fraud, and abuse. Anyone who thinks the same way is welcome to join in.

Enjoy your party while it lasts, Governor.

KY Road plan: more "spend, ready, aim!"

The Kentucky Club for Growth hits a trifecta in catching state government, Lexington, and the Herald Leader goofing on taxpayers again:

"Has either the state or the city actually analyzed the costs involved? No."

"So here's a $200,000 budget item that will balloon into more spending as these additional costs are encountered, all for a project the residents of the road frankly do not want."

"Not to mention $800,000 in state transportation funds that could also serve a better purpose."

You can read the rest here.

Our politicians are going to come back after us for a Road Fund "deficit" of $80 million in the current fiscal year. They should have to answer for this waste way before that happens.

Exactly!

The Louisville Courier Journal sums up nicely what is wrong with runaway government spending, if only unintentionally, in an editorial about local budget cuts.



Indeed, if we placed the same standard on all bureaucracies -- utilize fewer resources to get the same or even better results -- we would continue cutting, wouldn't we? Right-sizing government is something the big-government types will fight to the death for that very reason.

The only number that matters

As Frankfort politicians often do, they have been throwing budget deficit/shortfall/overspending figures around enough to make our heads spin. Of course, that's the idea. When they are finished and before the next election, we are just supposed to remember how nice and smart they look on television.

The truth is that you only need to know one number to understand Kentucky's overspending problem. It's $1,508,494,000. That's the one-point-five billion dollars in new bonded debt our representatives authorized for themselves in the current budget bill.

Too much government costs us too much money. It's going to be very difficult to "reform" much of anything until we come to grips with that simple fact.

Hoover warns of failed special session

Kentucky's House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover isn't crazy about the idea of going back to Frankfort for a June session of the legislature without properly planning their $60,000 a day activity.

Hoover said: "This is my thirteenth year (in the General Assembly.) We've had several special sessions. And the good special sessions are where we have at least a working agreement coming into the special session."




I like the part about spending cuts and no more tax increases, but it would be better if we could target the cuts toward waste instead of the across-the-board variety, leaving all the same players in place to come back next year for a bigger piece of the pie.

Hoover spoke Wednesday at the June meeting of the Women Republicans of Central Kentucky in Lexington.

We have lights and cameras, but no Skippy

Finance and Administration Cabinet Secretary Jonathan Miller should be eager to weigh in on Gov. Steve Beshear's scheduled butt-kicking on casino gambling coming up next week, shouldn't he?

Lexington official lies under oath

Corporal John Vest's federal whistleblower lawsuit in the Lexington jail inmate abuse scandal took an interesting turn last week when FCDC Director Ron Bishop declared in his sworn testimony that he was "paralyzed" by the FBI investigation into the jail and determined not to find out anything or ask any questions about any wrongdoing that may have occurred.

The following conversation between Vest's attorney Bill Jacobs and Bishop will certainly be contradicted by other witnesses in court:

Jacobs: Did you ever learn that some of your officers went to Mr. Vest's wife's
workplace and intimidated her?
Bishop: No.
Jacobs: You never learned that? Did FBI instruct anybody at your place
to not do that, if you know?
Bishop: I'm not aware of any instructions.
Jacobs: Did you ever learn that McQueen chased Mr. Vest around New Circle Road?
Bishop: No, I'm not aware of that.
Jacobs: Never heard about it?
Bishop: No.
Jacobs: Did you, or anybody at your direction, ask officers after they went to the FBI, Department of Justice, or the Grand Jury, what was asked of them or what they said?
Bishop: No.
Jacobs: You never did that?
Bishop: No.
Jacobs: No to all of those?
Bishop: No to all of those.
Jacobs: Do you know if anybody did ask them what they were asked by the FBI?
Bishop: I'm not aware of anyone who did that.
Jacobs: Did you instruct your staff that you were supervising not to ask those questions?
Bishop: Yes.
Jacobs: Who did you tell?
Bishop: Jim Kammer, Todd Eades, Mary Hester, and the Majors, Majors Hill, Korb, White.

This easy to disprove lie will prove particularly ill-timed given that defendants are now cooperating with prosecutors.