Gov. Steve Beshear announced in October the elimination of all KCHIP premiums. Previously, families whose income was over 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Level paid a $20 monthly premium.

Beshear said the premiums served as a deterrent to enrollment and caused some kids to drop out of the program due to costs. By suspending the premium, approximately 12,200 families will no longer pay the $20 per month.

But is this the best solution?

It’s one thing if families truly cannot pay the premium. But implementing a blanket policy eliminating the small premium for all 12,200 families without even considering the ability to possibly pay appears more like pandering for re-election votes than sound public policy.

Do the math. Eliminating premiums saves the combined enrolled families $244,000 a month and close to $3 million a year. But what they save, someone else has to pay.

Suspending premiums means taxpayers will have to pump more of their own money into the Medicaid program. It’s only fair that those receiving benefits help carry part of the load, if possible, especially during tough economic times.

A few days ago, State Labor Cabinet Secretary J.R. Gray retired three years following his appointment to the position. This calls for a celebration.

For his service, Gray will receive a high five, er…three from the state and a bloated pension bonus estimated at about $1.2 million.

Hey, no retirement party is complete without presents, right?

Thanks to a 2005 law, Gray’s legislative pension is calculated on the salary he received in his three years as cabinet secretary — $137,865 this year alone – instead of the 26 years he served in the Kentucky House of Representatives.

This loophole permits lawmakers to base their legislative pensions on the salary of another government job held either before or after serving in Frankfort.

The law also lowered the salary multiplying factor used in figuring pensions from a “high five” to a “high three.” Gray’s six-digit salary from his three years as cabinet secretary counts as his “high three,” which means his pension will be figured completely on his salary as secretary.

In contrast, his “high three” from his years as a state representative would have been a much lower number — around $40,000.

In all, his pension added about $400,000 each year to his three-year salary as secretary, meaning Gray was essentially paid over a half-million dollars a year for heading the labor cabinet.

Now, he’s retiring in time to barely meet the three-year requirement and cash out on his oversized pension.

Gray and all of the other political cronies who plan to take advantage of this taxpayer-funded cash cow might be celebrating. But citizens are not.

Back in October, Fort Campbell began work on a brand-new $8.4 million chapel complex, expected to be completed by 2012. The chapel will seat about 1,200 people, and will also house administrative offices, mulitpurpose classrooms, and various other amenities and services.

Awesome! I’m all for supporting our troops. They fight for our freedom and deserve all the recognition they can get.

But according to the Citizens Against Government Waste database, the project received $14.4 million in funding from the federal government.

Whoa … Wait a second. For those math buffs out there, that’s a $6 million difference.

Here’s the $1 million — or in this case, $14.4 million — question: Where is all that extra money going?

My spidey senses are tingling, and I’m detecting some wasteful spending.

A new study by Americans for Tax Reform shows states gaining congressional seats in the decennial reapportionment process have “significantly lower taxes, less government spending, and were more likely to have ‘Right to Work’ laws in place” compared to those states losing seats.

The study found the average top personal income tax rate among gainers is 116 percent lower than among losers. It also revealed the total state and local tax burden, as well as government spending, was about one-third lower.

In addition, seven of the eight gainers give workers the choice as to whether or not they join a union.

“Because reapportionment is based on population migration, this is further proof that fiscally conservative public policy spurs economic growth, creates jobs, and attracts population growth,” the ATR report said.

It’s tough to argue with the facts.

On Dec. 16, 1773, colonists boarded ships in Boston Harbor, throwing chests of tea overboard in protest of taxation without representation.

How quickly we forget.

Last week, Louisville’s Board of Water Works slipped a 3.75 percent tax increase into its 2011 budget– and in doing so bypassed the elected representatives of the people.

So Louisville, do you like your tea sweet or unsweet?

Louisville’s Water Works is run by a private corporation, giving it the power to raise its rates without consulting the Louisville Metro Council or any other elected body. But the corporation’s stock is solely owned by the Metro government, meaning the city reaps the benefits of all profits made. It’s taxation without representation at it’s finest, uh … worst.

For the average customer, the increase will only amount in about $10 extra per year, so it will likely go unnoticed by most.

But there are some taking notice. While you may not see any tea thrown into the Ohio River in the near future, you can bet that this will not be the last word on the Louisville board’s actions.

Sen.-elect Rand Paul has indicated that gridlock isn’t necessarily a bad thing, pointing out that debate is healthy and a divided government is less likely to spend money.

As it turns out, Paul is on to something.

A recent study by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University shows that on average, divided government increases spending by 2.55 percent, while government with one party in control increases spending by 4.67 percent.

That is big news for taxpayers, especially since the Kentucky Legislature and U.S. Congress will both be divided for the next term.

“Divided we stand, united we fall,” Thomas Jefferson once said.

Those who loathe the prospect of a divided government and gridlock should remember that our founding fathers supported the idea of divided government as part of the American checks and balances system.

Why are committee chairmen in the Kentucky Legislature so important? Because they hold all the power.

If you look at this flow chart on how a bill becomes a law, you will notice that chairmen have special privileges, including the ability to “stall” a bill before it even gets to the chamber floor.

So what happens if a bill comes before a committee that conflicts with the chairman’s special interests?

“Committee chairs have enormous power in the commonwealth’s legislature,” said Jim Waters, Bluegrass Institute’s vice president of policy and communications. “They have the power to give great momentum to bills they – and their special-interest allies – want passed, and hold up those they don’t.”

How do Kentuckians fight against these special interests? By becoming more active in the legislative process and contacting their legislators.

The Bluegrass Institute has made this especially easy by providing profiles containing comprehensive information for all 138 state legislators. These profiles have been added to FreedomKentucky.org under the “Kentucky Legislators” page.

Each profile includes a biography, contact information – including phone numbers and e-mail addresses – and identifies which committees the lawmaker serves on.

In addition to the profiles, the institute has also added pages on House and Senate Committees, as well as Legislature Leadership– So you’ll know just who to contact when that bill you support or oppose comes up.

To read the full press release, click here. To go to the “Kentucky Legislators” page, click here.