Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Big government still Frankfort's problem

November revenue figures out this morning for Kentucky's state government continue to indicate overspending -- and not a revenue shortfall -- plagues efforts to balance the budget.

According to Acting State Budget Director John T. Hicks, combined General Fund and Road Fund receipts last month were $31,016,766 higher than in November 2007.

In the fiscal year since July 1, receipts are $45.1 million higher now than at the same time in 2007.

Again, cutting out wasteful policies like prevailing wage and corporate welfare and straightening up the accountability issues with K-12 education spending should come well before any of the currently threatened tax increases.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe get rid of stu silberan? Under investigation and superintendent of the year? Spends 2.6 million on 26 buses after raisng taxes 5 million in fayette county because they are broke? Could have got a grant to retrofit all 250 busses at a cost of 0 to the district and 500k to the EPA who gives out the grants. Great work stu

Hempy said...

Prevailing wage is not a wasteful policy. For an economy to be prosperous, money has to circulate. It's wage earners who have the money to spend that fuels an economy.

A living family wage should be the order of the day.

The most wasteful government spending that's not addressed by government or by BPB, is the $270 million a year spent incarcerating non-violent marijuana users. There was no 4% cut in incarceration dollars.

Kentucky needs to scrap its punitive, marijuana and hemp laws.

When government of "We the people" decides to legalize and regulate a substance, federal law has no business telling states that they can't regulate and tax a substance.

Other than inalienable rights and the enumerated items in the US Constitution, federal law has no supremacy over state law. Neither do state and local law enforcement have any business enforcing such federal laws.

Amanda said...

Maybe the Acting state Budget Director needs to remember a simple practice that most folks go by--you cannot spend what you do not have. This director needs to step back and take a good look at how the funds are being spent. Are they all necessary? Are the bids the lowest or are the officials helping to line pockets of their friends?