Thursday, October 30, 2008

News flash: Kentucky spends too much money

Gov. Steve Beshear set the stage today for tax increases and another shot at casino gambling when he announced projections of $294 million in overspending for the current year:

"Kentucky is expected to have a $294 million shortfall in its state budget this year, Gov. Steve Beshear said Thursday."

"At a Capitol news conference, Beshear said he would develop a plan over the next several weeks to address the shortfall for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. He said the plan will include spending cuts and may include raising new revenue."

Repealing prevailing wage would be a more sound policy for balancing the books than raising taxes and cutting public employee pension benefits and simplifying retirement system investing procedures would be more efficient than trying again to pass a questionable casino scheme.

1 comment:

Hempy said...

Kentucky's budget needs can be met without a tax increase. Kentucky spends about $270 million a year incarcerating marijuana users.

Sens. McConnell (R) and Bunning (R) and Rep. Anne Northup (R) all consistently voted against any hemp initiatives introduced into the Congress over the past eight years.

Legalizing hemp and allowing Kentucky to regulate and tax recreational marijuana would more than cover any budget shortfalls.

Pardoning all non-violent marijuana users alone would save the state $270 million a year.

The News flash could have more accurately read: "Kentucky spends too much money wrongly."

Repealing the prevailing wage is idiotic. Republican-engineered income shrinkage has contributed to the economic mess Republican economics has gotten us into.

Cutting wages means that the small barbeque restaurant business loses customers who can no longer afford to take the family out once in a while for a barbeque meal. And so another small business has to cut back or close.

Your Republican economics stinks to the high heavens.