Gov. Steve Beshear‘s budget address may have been a wake-up call for those who didn’t think things were as bad as they seemed. For others, it may have been a realization that the bold leadership Beshear campaigned on was nothing but campaign rhetoric.
There will be a $165 million cut in spending next year, and it will hit most areas of the state, save K-12 education and Medicaid. Higher education may have been the hardest hit.
U of L chief James Ramsey told the C-J: “. . . it’s going to be impossible for us to continue to move forward, and the question becomes will we be able to keep from backsliding.” UK’s Lee Todd said it will create a $50 million shortfall. Of note, this comes the day after Todd hired a VP of diversity for $210,000 a year.
But Beshear’s speech was full of those sorts of contradictions. Drastically cut spending here, but make up for it with a questionable expenditure there.
Beshear presented nothing bold last night. He preserved the funding for public schools, but said there would be no raises for teachers. And he authorized 2 percent raises (not much, but more than teachers are getting) for state employees, and said nothing about cuts to the state work force. He preserved $6 million for the Louisville Zoo and many other capital projects, and put money into the Bucks for Brains programs, but told University presidents to get by with less.
What he didn’t do was push for a cigarette tax increase that could solve many of the state’s financial problems, stubbornly sticking to a no new taxes pledge. When he finally got around to his number one campaign issue, casino gaming, it was sort of an add-on at the end. Senate president David Williams was quick to say that his proposal would face stiff opposition in the Senate. And Beshear spared state employees any pain, refusing to say he would cut jobs in state government.
He didn’t talk about cutting state government jobs or the money he would realize from an efficiency audit. He didn’t talk about money-saving suggestions he may have received after pleading with citizens for ideas during his most recent speech. Beshear asked university presidents to give, but showed no willingness to sacrifice his own perks. Heck, he’s already started using the state plane for political purposes.
In fact, Beshear set himself up for a wide range of criticism by authorizing spending in certain areas – like capital projects, while hitting other parts of state government (higher education) hard.
Rather than announce bold initiatives in areas he campaigned on, such as economic development and pre-school education, he said he would form committees or task forces to study those issues. Right, set up a committee to study the problems.
Many of those interviewed after the speech said this was only the start of the battle in Frankfort. Sadly, they’re right.
11 responses so far ↓
1 David Adams // Jan 30, 2008 at 2:33 pm
This is just another reason I am sending my kids to Georgia for college. That state has the largest state-run merit scholarship program in the country. Tuition stays reasonable there because most kids won’t work hard enough to compete for the merit-based aid.
Kentucky is so busy creating artificial demand by sending students to college on the strength of their lack of financial ability to pay more than their willingness to work hard, they don’t even see how they are pricing out the middle class.
Governor Beshear pledged last night to keep up the level of need-based financial aid. This is exactly the wrong thing to do.
2 Yellow Dog // Jan 30, 2008 at 2:55 pm
I want to believe that Beshear is forcing the legislature to bite the bullet and pass a cigarette tax that he can then claim he had “no choice” but to accept.
However, I’ve heard from too many agencies in state government that Beshear’s “there is no place to get more revenue” is a blatant lie.
Apparently, several agencies proposed new (non-tax) revenue sources that would have provided millions, but were shot down by Beshear because they gored a few prized constituencies.
More than a few people are extremely angry that they are being forced to cut needed services because Beshear won’t inconvenience his buddies.
Ernie got started wrong by pissing off the merit bureaucracy; looks like Steve is doing the same damn thing.
3 Steve Magruder (I, not D or R) // Jan 30, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Did anyone else receive the e-mailed laundry list of restored capital projects from Jennifer Moore, Chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party?
It lists:
* Lake Malone State Park
* Louisville Zoo
* Pikeville Medical Center
* Animal shelters in many sections of the state
* Brooklawn Child and Family Services
* Murray State University Chemistry Building
* Carrollton Campus of Jefferson Community Technical College
* Licking Valley Campus of Maysville CTC
* Advanced technology center of Owensboro CTC
* Rowan County Campus CTC planning/design
I live in Louisville, and I think it’s all right for improvements at the Louisville Zoo be put on hold so our university students won’t be shit on. Call me crazy, but I think the students (our nation’s economic future) are more important than a new polar bear exhibit.
Beyond that, I found the e-mail odd in that it talked all about what Beshear was protecting, maintaining or adding, but left out the 12% university cuts. And I think the people of Kentucky hoped for a new governor who wouldn’t obfuscate. Sad.
Yeap, we need to seriously push a major cigarette tax increase, even if Beshear threatens it with a veto. It’s a matter of fiscal responsibility, and I’m afraid that we the people of the Commonwealth will just have to ram it down his throat. Again, sad.
These ridiculous “no new taxes” pledges are really starting to cause damage.
(the above is repeated from The ‘Ville Voice)
4 Anonymous // Jan 30, 2008 at 3:09 pm
People, people, people….
All the poor-mouthing is Beshear trying to ram casino gambling down our throats.
If gambling passes, the money will magically reappear and all the new millions and billions that gambling will bring in will be promised for all sorts of new projects.
If gambling fails, the “shortfall” will also magically disappear but they just won’t say much about it publicly.
Smoke and mirrors, smoke and mirrors, blame Ernie Fletcher, smoke and mirrors.
5 David Adams // Jan 30, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Phyllis George was just introduced on the House floor. Do we need any more reminders that the Bluegrass Conspiracy days have returned?
6 winstnsmth // Jan 30, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Pretending the budget shortfall was fabricated for political purposes is just a desperate attempt by Fletcher apologists, and it’s dangerous to pretend that “deficits don’t matter” the way the President has done with his debt-financed permanent tax cuts.
Beshear needs to put BOTH gaming and cigarette taxes on the table. Putting all his faith in gambling as the panacea is unrealistic and makes me tend to disapprove it in a referendum. Casino revenues would be good for the Commonwealth, but we can’t barrel down this juggernaut with that as our only brake.
7 Confused // Jan 30, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I am confused this sounds like a Republican blog. I must not be in the right place. Sorry.
8 Yellow Dog // Jan 30, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Confused: Yes, you are. The republican blogs are the ones where they praise all republicans as perfect Gods, no matter how many crimes they’ve been convicted of.
9 Steve Magruder (I, not D or R) // Jan 30, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Confused, this blog is indeed Democratic-leaning, but even Democrats can challenge people in their own party. Yes, it’s true, as amazing as that thought seems.
I think most of us here crave leadership that is fiscally responsible, and who don’t lie or obfuscate. Beshear is failing here, not nearly as bad as Fletcher, but still failing.
10 winstnsmth // Jan 30, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Confused, if you read the Republican blogs you’ll find a striking lack of honesty toward their readers, saying stuff like the dailykos has been “accused of being Anti-Semitic” when that accusation actually led to a defamation lawsuit (you don’t parse words like that unless you’re dodging the truth).
There’s a term for giving us a candy-coated KDP endorsed picture of all thing Democratic – it’s called propagana. No wonder why the kos is the largest political blog and pageone got nearly a million hits in an hour yesterday (if the logfiles after the MSNBC mention can be trusted), while the top 3 kentucky republican blogs have a combined readership of about 50 people. Believe it or not, but honesty is mainstream.
11 jake // Jan 30, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Woah. I go to sleep a few hours and wake up a Republican!
Does this mean my gay card gets taken away? :(
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