In the 2008 General Assembly, Gov. Steve Beshear couldn't get approval for the casinos he promised to get nor the twenty five cent cigarette tax he promised not to seek.
Today, even the Wall Street Journal knows Beshear has upped his ante (even if they can't spell his name):
"Kentucky Gov. Steve Bashear would raise cigarette taxes from 30 cents to $1 per pack."
It's an interesting article in the WSJ about revenue-enhancing tactics to expect from the states. Read it here.
The Republican Senate has no motivation to give Beshear his tax increase. And despite Beshear's best efforts, House leadership, the state's two biggest newspapers, and every rent-seeking interest group imaginable, neither do many of the rank-and-file members of the House. Tax increases and spending bills require support of three-fifths of the members of each chamber in each odd-numbered year.
Beshear's best chance to keep his head above water without infuriating government-dependent activists is to just borrow the money. And that is surely the route he will take.
Thank your children.
Cutting spending on nonessential government programs remains the only way to not have to repeat this whole ridiculous exercise again next year.
2 comments:
The CJ today printed a list of the Jefferson County School Administrative staff and their salaries. Just based on their titles alone a reasonably astute manager at any for-profit company could quickly save millions. $110,000 a year for a Manager Diversity/Eq? How in the hell do you stay busy all day for a year when your job is about "Diversity"? The list was filled with scores of similar positions. There is so much excess management in that list it makes ones eyes roll. And you know something of a similar nature is being perpetrated throughout every level of state and local government. A pox on all of 'em.
The most egregious example of non-essential government spending is the $270 million squandered annually incarcerating marijuana users.
Too, since 1981, Kentucky has doled out $371,000,000 to Toyota of Georgetown. Over 27 years, that amounts to $13,740,741 a year.
That's tantamount to putting a bounty on the heads of US autoworkers. Why doesn't Kentucky tell Toyota that the only way they can keep this state welfare is to pay their workers salaries and benefits that are equal to what US automakers receive? Why aid foreign competition over American manufacturers?
regarding solarity's comment, Jefferson County Public Schools has about one administrator for every six teachers. You won't find a teacher-pupil ratio that low.
This is a case where government needs to oblige itself to control itself. See Federalist Paper 51, Alexander Hamilton and/or James Madison.
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