Congressional Democrats have been talking about a federal guarantee for state and local government bonded debt for a while now. Unfortunately for taxpayers, that plan just isn’t moving along fast enough.Given that borrowing in the municipal market is Kentucky’s preferred method of overspending, our politicians will surely be on board with this fiscally irresponsible plan…
Gov. Steve Beshear is never going to get his act straight on Kentucky’s Davis-Bacon requirements if he gets his news from The Louisville Courier Journal. Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson deserves credit for his veto of an ordinance requiring union wages for certain city construction projects. A similar move on the state level would save us…
Speaking on WHAS 840 AM in Louisville this morning, Gov. Steve Beshear dismissed a question about repealing prevailing wage requirements. Overspending on taxpayer-paid wages based on political connections simply can’t be justified in the middle of an overspending crisis. As we await official revenue forecasts due out next week, now is exactly the right time…
The Louisville Courier Journal on Monday trumpeted the arrival of two dozen auto workers from Michigan, calling them “economic refugees.” Policymakers here would do well to ignore the cheerleading and, instead, focus on strategies for growth that might keep more of our own people from seeking economic refuge elsewhere. Really, if doling out economic development…
– Even housing location doesn’t work! In one of the most dramatic examples yet of how governmental bureaucracy can ride rough shod over parent’s school preferences, the Courier-Journal reports the new student assignment plan in Jefferson County Public Schools is generating hundreds of angry parents. Some of the individual stories are truly shocking. In a…
Click on this link and take a copy the Hamilton, Ohio spending transparency resolution to your local city and/or county officials. Please report back on your efforts and your results. And I’d love to know which elected officials oppose greater bureaucratic fiscal accountability.
– California knows, Why Doesn’t Kentucky? Two years ago, California’s public education system began to get honest high school graduation and dropout data after switching to a high quality student tracking system. Two days ago, the state got its second set of trustworthy data, and it showed that only 68 percent of California’s students graduate…
Louisville taxpayers will soon be overpaying for more public construction projects. Not exactly the best timing for paying off labor unions, is it?
– Wall Street Journal Op-Ed ‘Gets’ It Echoing a local problem that repeats itself across the nation, a Wall Street Journal article points to a sharp difference in the actions of public sector and private sector unions in this country. Private sector unions recognize what is going on with the economy and are taking steps…
As the Obama administration and congress try to undo the highly popular Washington, DC school voucher program, they are getting push back from a surprising source – the liberally oriented Washington Post. Writes the Post, “Senate hearing offers good reasons for preserving the District’s education experiment.” Check the article for comments about how the DC…