'Extremely disappointed' over Kentucky's entire economic-development policy

Gov. Beshear is "disappointed by today's announcement" that Kentucky won't receive a federal grant for a new lithium ion electric car battery factory in Hardin County.

One of the reasons there is so much disappointment when a single project like this falls through is that Kentucky's economic-development policy doesn't produce the stream of new jobs and revenue that would improve its fiscal strength.

While we didn't land the battery factory, what companies could we land if, say, we lowered taxes and lifted stifling regulations on businesses?

Many out-of-state firms don't want to fight with labor unions, so the fact that we don't have a right-to-work policy also harms us. Beshear talked about the process for landing the battery factory being "extremely competitive," but in this global marketplace, the process for all jobs is extremely competitive.

And being the only state in the southeast region of the country without a right-to-work policy makes us even less competitive.

I wonder if Beshear might be able to feel this pain as much as he can the loss of a single, politically sensitive enterprise.