Governor wants to rearrange chairs on Kentucky Medicaid's sinking ship deck

Gov. Beshear wants lawmakers to shift $167 million from next year's Medicaid budget to this fiscal year so the state can "draw more federal matching money for Medicaid from federal stimulus funds," according to the (Louisville) Courier-Journal.

But that same article points that if Beshear succeeds in this legislative maneuver, "it only postpones the need to achieve savings or make cuts in the program."

Instead of decisively moving forward with an announcement of immediate and detailed cuts needed to right this ship, Beshear proposes doing little more than rearranging the chairs on the deck of Kentucky Medicaid's sinking ship.

Kentucky now is so firmly planted on Washington's teat that it has weakened its sovereign power and placed the future of the commonwealth's economy -- not to mention the individual liberty of its citizens -- at great risk.

Could we stand up to Washington even if those in charge of Frankfort's political hen house wanted to?