BLOG

Lexington mayor talks “unsustainable” pensions

Reduce Government Spending, Transparency and Accountability, UncategorizedBy Jim Waters July 2, 2012

“Thorny” and “out of control” are the words that Lexington Mayor Jim Gray used to describe the city’s pension situation. Uh oh.

In a recent interview with WUKY, Gray explains how the city’s annual required contribution to the pension system has increased by 400% over the past decade and describes this is as “unsustainable”. He goes on to say that if this continues it will threaten the city’s competitiveness. Unfortunately, he is correct. In fact, Lexington’s pension woes mirror those of the state.

Gray also correctly points out that the taxpayers are footing the bill and deserve a chance to resolve this problem.

I appreciate the mayor recognizing the severity of the problem as it most certainly will not solve itself, as some seem to think it will.

I do hope that something is done quickly. It seems that Kentucky is digging deeper and deeper into debt and the longer we wait to fix the problem, the worse it will get. You can read more about Kentucky’s pension crisis here.

Bluegrass Bullet: Pension double-dipping

Reduce Government Spending, Transparency and AccountabilityBy Jim Waters July 2, 2012

Double-dipping is not only repugnant at parties. It’s unacceptable for politicians in Kentucky’s pension system, too.

Independence Day Commentary from Jim Waters

Smaller GovernmentBy Richard Innes July 1, 2012

Bluegrass Institute president Jim Waters recorded this timeless message four years ago, but these points are as pertinent today as they were in 2008, or more than two centuries ago.

Again, feds fail at picking winners and losers in our energy markets

EnergyBy Jim Waters June 30, 2012

In the wake of this week’s U.S. Court of Appeals decision to uphold the EPA’s ability to unilaterally regulate greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants, a second striking instance of the ineffectiveness of “alternative energy sources” has hit mainstream news feeds.

Just as Solyndra, the solar panel manufacturer and darling of extreme environmentalists in D.C., flopped after swiping hundreds of millions of dollars of government support, Abound Solar has also gone belly up after receiving similar loan guarantees via tax payers like you and me. The federal government is about as adept at picking winners and losers in energy markets as Larry King is at picking life partners.

One would think our federal masters who pull the puppet strings at the EPA would finally give up on its pie-in-the-sky energy fantasies and face reality – that using the EPA as a weapon to suck the economic vitality out of fossil fuel industries like Kentucky coal only serves to break the backs of those communities that rely on coal and of those businesses that rely on fossil fuels for the cheap energy rates that bring affordable products to consumers.

Somehow, this is not the case, and the sovereignty of Kentucky’s energy sector goes continually threatened.

Phillip S. Rogers retires from Kentucky’s teacher certification board

EducationBy Richard Innes June 30, 2012

Dr. Phillip Rogers retires today from the position of Executive Director of the Kentucky Educational Professional Standards Board (EPSB), the organization that oversees professional certification of teachers and principals. He leaves an important legacy.

Perhaps the most stunning action to take place while Dr. Rogers was at the helm was the EPSB’s cancellation of certification for every Masters of Education degree granting program in the state. Every college that wanted to continue to award this degree to adopt new and more meaningful programs and then reapply for a new certification from the EPSB.

Rogers oversaw many other changes such as those for admissions standards for undergraduate teacher preparation programs, higher hour requirements for practice teaching, redesign of principal preparation programs, major changes to the Kentucky Teacher Internship Program and expanded options for alternate certification of new teachers who already had significant experience in business and industry.

With Rogers at the helm, the EPSB took the first ever punitive teacher certificate actions based on forensic evidence of test cheating. This sent a clear message to teachers that cheating on tests in Kentucky could have serious consequences and the odds of getting caught were going up. It also put teachers and other school staffers on notice that responsibilities for safeguarding test products should not be taken lightly.

To be sure, a number of EPSB activities during the Rogers era were not popular with education’s status quo crowd. However, Dr. Rogers established precedents and legacies that should serve our students well in the future. We think Kentucky is going to miss this energetic leader. Without doubt, he will be able to smile about a number of his important accomplishments.

Education commissioner wants to try telecommuting at Kentucky Dept. of Ed.

EducationBy Richard Innes June 29, 2012

Why not?

Kentucky Commissioner of Education Terry Holliday just issued a short article discussing his interest in using telecommuting for workers at his department.

This can be a good idea to keep good people on staff who otherwise might leave. It certainly can reduce commuting costs for participants.

Of course, there needs to be good connectivity, both on line and through telephone, with the telecommuters, but that shouldn’t pose a huge problem. And, there are issues such as staff isolation and ways to assure good work output that need to be worked out (home environments do provide distractions), but these are not insurmountable obstacles.

Truth is, I’ve been a telecommuter at the Bluegrass Institute from day one back in 2003. I have found some challenges to this new wave of working arrangements, to be sure, but I would not be interested in commuting from Northern Kentucky to either Lexington or Frankfort, where BIPPS has office locations. Without telecommuting, BIPPS might not be able to afford to have an education analyst on staff.

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) might also benefit from getting/keeping key expertise on staff in the same way.

Furthermore, I’ll bet there are some outstanding teachers who now have children and quit working to stay home. They could provide all sorts of great expertise and help to Frankfort and school staff around the state if telecommuting became available.

As far as the public’s access to both KDE people and their data, most of the times when I call staff members at the department for information, they wind up looking in the department’s on line resources to find it. With proper access, they could do the same from home.

So long as the ‘extranet’ security is properly set up, whether I get information and supporting expertise from someone physically present at 500 Mero Street (the KDE’s home building) or from someone working from home, I see no difference.

On the other hand, I can see real benefits for everyone if KDE adopts this growing approach to more flexible working arrangements.

So, why not give it a try.

Support the Bluegrass Institute

The Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions works with Kentuckians, pro-liberty coalitions, grassroots organizations and business owners to advance freedom and prosperity by promoting free-market capitalism, individual liberty and transparent government.