Kicking Frankfort's can down the road

While Kentucky plays around with lesser issues, California is at least looking at what we should be looking at: unfunded public pension liabilities.

Kentucky is in the hole $30 billion on our pension obligations, but continues to play funding games rather than seriously cutting state government to be able to afford massive retirement bills when they come due.

When Kentucky's retirement system actuarial reports come out later this fall, renewed interest in this mess should motivate proper action, but probably won't.

In California today, a vote is expected to allow their retirement system to continue to pretend that there is no problem. Kentucky has done the same thing -- a process called "smoothing," which involves spreading current financial losses over future years -- in each of our last two legislative sessions. This allows the problem to get bigger, costing taxpayers more. From a legislator's perspective it is okay, though, because they are future taxpayers.

To his credit, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gets it:


All the legislators in Frankfort know that this pension time bomb is our biggest problem.

Upping the bogus casino headline ante

The Lexington Herald Leader's misleading $700 million casino headline hadn't even cycled off their web site's front page Wednesday evening and they went and added another, $1.3 billion, one.



Nice job, guys. How many billions will you be up to tomorrow? Make mine a red Ferrari.

Kentucky Tea Party today

I'm headed to Frankfort to speak on the Capitol steps at noon.

Frankfort's corporate manipulation plan advances

The most shocking, offensive thing about the language of the corporate welfare bill in the 2009 special session of the General Assembly is that it is not widely viewed as shocking and offensive.



In other words, if this bill passes and you have a business in Kentucky, decisions of "the authority" to grant welfare to you or your competitors will be of "paramount importance." Can't imagine Frankfort messing that up, can you?

Herald Leader's accuracy streak ends fast

It's pretty odd that in the same week in which we have seen decent reporting and opinion from the Lexington Herald Leader on House Democrats' casino scheming, we would see what is easily one of the worst, most misleading headlines of the year:



At least the story explains the plan really only involves spending "up to $700 million," despite the headline's ridiculous claim that it would "provide" it. That's the worst of journalism and a perfect example of why the paper's circulation keeps declining.

But the best part comes deep in the story with the following passage:



Don't know who wrote the bad headline, but this one is on the reporter and editors. Couldn't they find anyone to explain the joke? I thought everyone knew that it took seventeen years for the legislature to finally keep that promise. Maybe Rep. Flood doesn't know that since she was in California back when the lottery was fraudulently sold to taxpayers as a funding source for education. But the newspaper folks should know.

By the way, the Courier Journal did it right:

... from our cold, dead hands

The Internal Revenue Service this afternoon backed off plans to tax employer-provided cell phones at 25%, under the assumption that one-fourth of the usage of such phones was personal and, therefore, taxable.

Now if we can only get people as stirred up about private property rights, civil liberties, private contracts, currency manipulation, wealth redistribution, and public debt as they are about their cell phones, we will really be getting someplace.

Walking into the eye of the storm

I'm on my way to Frankfort to speak in the Capitol Rotunda at noon about Gov. Beshear's casino gambling proposal.

Beshear has already mishandled the issue enough to kill it for this special session and to put it at long odds for the 2010 session beginning in January.

What a mess...

Bunning second wind?

Sen. Jim Bunning just said his second quarter fundraising is going better than his first quarter fundraising but that he wouldn't say more about it until July 15 when campaign finance filing is made publicly available.

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: