Doom and Gloom

[drakeshooter]

Frankfort missing Gloom and Doom
By Bill Bartleman bbartleman@paducahsun.com (bbartleman@paducahsun.com)--270.575.8651


Sunday, January 13, 2008

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the state budget is out of balance and that a projected shortfall of more than $500 million could cause major cuts next year.

The legislature has been balancing the budget for years with smoke and mirrors by using one-time money that has accumulated in special accounts. In essence it was taking money out of savings to pay for ongoing programs.

The result is the same as if a person uses savings to pay ongoing expenses; eventually, the savings are gone.

The state has been spending beyond its means in recent years, funding road construction projects and other programs by borrowing money that will be repaid over 20 years.

Again, it’s like a person borrowing money to buy a house, a car, furniture, expensive meals and to take an expensive vacation every year.

Eventually, the loan payments and living expenses will exceed the income.
But the real problem with the budget occurred in the mid-1990s with the retirements of Rep. Joe Clarke and Sen. Mike Moloney, the longtime chairmen of legislative budget committees.

They are still known as Gloom and Doom because of their conservative approach to the budget. No matter how much money the state appeared to have on paper, they warned there wasn’t enough to adequately fund programs.

They weren’t popular with their colleagues, who enjoyed gathering around the pork barrel and bobbing for money for favorite projects that could help ensure re-election.

While the Gloom and Doom Boys never won the war for lean and mean budgets, they won some battles in their efforts for financial restraint, especially in the area of pork-barrel projects and borrowing money.

After they got frustrated and retired, no one stepped in to replace their conservative budget philosophies or sound the warning sirens.

Their projections of gloom and doom have been replaced by the music of “Happy Days Are Here Again” for the pork barrel-bobbing legislators.

The governor and lawmakers will blame the current crisis on a souring economy or former Gov. Ernie Fletcher, but the true cause is a decade of poor budget decisions.

When the economy was booming in the mid-1990s and money was flowing into state bank accounts like water down a swollen Ohio River, lawmakers forgot that the economy runs in cycles.

Rather than showing restraint to prepare for leaner days ahead, the governor and lawmakers created new programs, hired more state workers and funded projects at record levels. The pork from Frankfort became sweet-smelling barbecue in every county.

In 1998, when the state had a record surplus, I wrote a column warning that the feast would lead to famine, just as it did in 1980, 1986 and 1990, and that’s exactly what has happened.

Some in Frankfort will argue during the current legislative session that casino gambling is the only way to put the state on sound financial footing.

That’s smoke and mirrors and is the same argument used in 1988 when the state lottery was approved.

What the state really needs is reincarnation of the Gloom and Doom Boys willing to sound the warning sirens and cut a few more notches in a belt-tightening budget.

Bill Bartleman has been a reporter for The Paducah Sun since 1972 and has covered government and politics since 1975. Comments or reaction? E-mail bartleman@paducahsun.com, phone 575-8651 or write to Box 2300, Paducah, KY 42002-2300.

[trader rob]

i agree with all of that. on the other hand if they think the government is going to cut back while the taxpayers have any chance of squeaking through and footing the bill, well it is a fantasy.

[Art]

I have really been following the current situation in Frankfort. Now as always, I could be totally wrong about this but my opinion is as follows.

Beshear is a snake. His whole term depends on the success of getting big casino's in KY. He really has no back up plan. Big business backed him all the way to the mansion and now they are expecting a return on their investment. This is evident by looking at the donors to his political piggy bank.

This whole idea that he is trying to pass off is really a slap in the face to any Kentuckian who is smart enough to think for themselves. He acts like he just learned of the budget troubles AFTER he took office. That is TOTAL BS. He's playing for sympathy right now, and with the help of entities such as the Herald Liberal, he's getting it. I love how most of his projections of budget shortfalls are around, oh 500 million. The exact same figure he claims casino's will pump into the state's funds each year.

All I can tell you is this. If you're a smoker you better bend over right now because your habit is about to get VERY expensive. For Beshears sake, he better get Casino's in here because he is totally screwed if he doesn't he will be the biggest lame duck we have ever had.

I get a kick out of all the people that voted for Beshear that are writing editorials in the Herald Liberal. They feel like they've been scamed, and they have.:D I'm just glad I don't work for the state for once in my life. I will get a real nice raise this year, 2 of them in fact.:D

[CUZZIN]

He cant be no lamer than fletcher,hes the one that got us into this mess..

[westkybanded]

$766,662 given for inauguration
53 OF 165 DONORS GAVE $10,000 FOR BESHEAR-MONGIARDO EVENTS
By Ryan Alessi
RALESSI@HERALD-LEADER.COM
Related Content
Related Story $10,000 donors
Comments

FRANKFORT --
Donors from the casino and horse industries ponied up more than $120,000 to Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear's and Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo's Dec. 11 inauguration parade and parties, according to finance reports.

Overall, Beshear's inauguration committee received $766,662 in donations and has spent $352,718 on the festivities so far, leaving nearly $414,000 in the bank.

But Vicki Glass, Beshear's spokeswoman, said some bills for the event still need to be paid. She said she didn't know whether the committee will have any money left over when all expenses are paid.

Of the 165 donors, 53 gave $10,000 -- the largest single amount given by individual donors, according to a review of the inauguration committee's finances filed Tuesday with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.

Several of those big-dollar donors are prominent names in the casino industry.

Beshear has pledged to push a constitutional amendment that would allow casinos in Kentucky, which he says will provide new revenue.

Among those who shelled out $10,000 for the inauguration parade and parties was R.D. Hubbard, a developer who is part of the Sprint Racing Group that's trying to get a license to build a horse track in Laurel County.

Hubbard had to give up his casino license in Indiana after an incident involving prostitutes at a gambling function.

Bill Yung Jr., president of Columbia Sussex, a Crestview Hills company that owns several casinos, also wrote a $10,000 check. Yung has expressed interest in a casino in Northern Kentucky should the General Assembly and voters approve a constitutional change.

New Jersey recently took away the gaming license for Yung's company's Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City.

The $10,000 donors who have strong ties to Kentucky's horse racing industry include Linda Geary of Louisville, whose husband Ron Geary owns Ellis Park in Henderson; Jerry Carroll, owner of the Kentucky Motor Speedway who used to own Turfway Park in Florence and once expressed interest in casino ownership; and Frank Shoop, a Lexington auto dealer who headed the Kentucky Racing Commission during Gov. Paul Patton's administration.

Glass, Beshear's spokeswoman, said the contributions don't represent any attempt to buy influence.

"They are just generous people who wanted to give," she said.

This comes as lawmakers returned to Frankfort Tuesday for the 2008 General Assembly, which among other things, is expected to feature a hearty debate over casinos.

Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, said he won't alter his stance against casinos and pledged to rebuff any attempts to negotiate over the bill.

If the measure passes the Republican-controlled Senate, it will be because 23 lawmakers -- the number necessary for a constitutional amendment to pass that chamber -- feel strongly about the issue, not because Republicans were promised something in return, he said.

"There's not going to be any trades or linkages or anything like that on this bill at all," Williams said.

Horse owners and breeders who gave $10,000 include former Democratic Gov. Brereton Jones, owner of Airdrie Stud farms, and a proponent for casino gambling; Bill Casner, co-owner of Winstar Farms; horse owner Jess Jackson; horse breeder Alan Leavitt Jr. of Walnut Hall Farm; Antony Beck, president of Gainesway Management Corporation; and Bruce Lunsford, racehorse owner and millionaire businessman who lost to Beshear in the 2007 Democratic primary and is now considering a run for U.S. Senate.

Beshear's inaugural committee also snared large checks from prominent Democratic donors.

Tracy and Carol Farmer, for instance, each contributed $10,000. Tracy Farmer, an investor and horse owner, has been one of Beshear's staunchest backers in the 2007 governor's race.

Other large checks came from a smattering of contractors, coal and energy company executives.

Beshear's predecessor, Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, raised slightly more for his inauguration, $875,000, but from many more donors -- more than 700. His events cost $1 million.

Pol Watchers : Keep up with developments in state government.

Herald-Leader staff writer John Stamper contributed to this report.

[Art]

He cant be no lamer than fletcher,hes the one that got us into this mess..


Your drinking that Koolaid by the gallon my friend. If I'm not mistaken, Fletcher left Beshear with a surplus. Beshear is in turn blaming the massive downturn in the economy that just happened to develope about the same day he took office so he claims. According to him, even though the state budget is a public document, he didn't realize that there were problems until after he took office. He was claiming free tuition before the election, now he's taking money from the schools. He scammed you my friend.

Beshear has one plan and one agenda for his administration. The only chance he has to get anything done is getting big Casino money in KY and raising taxes... If you listen closely to what he is saying, he's saying if he isn't allowed to do this then we are all screwed because he doesn't have a backup plan. Beshear is a puppet that said what people wanted to hear before the election. Most KY voters were all too willing to help pull that trojan horse right into downtown Frankfort.

[mrdux]

The problem in Frankfort is no different than the problems in Washington. Without term limits in both places, the pigs will continue to line the trough to get their pork projects to buy votes back home. We as voters are as guilty as the politicians. We have allowed the socialist mindset to creep into our fiber since FDR. If we can't have it on our own, the government should provide it. I call BS on that!!! I want the government to provide for my protection and basic needs like roads and infrastructure then get the hell out of my life!!

The welfare state and unrestricted access to money and services by those who aren't citizens and those who have never lifted a hand to help themselves has to stop. How many of us personally know of families that are on the 3rd or 4th generation that have never held a job but always have a place to live, money for cigarettes and booze, free medical, free food, free everything?? Those same families always have satellite TV, cell phones, cars to drive, etc. Who pays for that? We who pay taxes do!! I'm sick to HELL over it and it's time we force our leaders to tow the line and give this country back to those of us who are willing to work for it or die for it!!

Beshear is no different than any politician. He has bent over to the casino crowd and sold his soul to the Devil to get what they want. Wilkinson did the same thing with the lottery. Promise somebody something for nothing and they will always vote themselves more of the same---politicians promising something for nothing. That something for nothing is the first verse of the socialist playbook. Make the citizens subservient and you can control them. Make them think the government should provide everything and we will have control of nothing.

It's coming folks!! Hide and watch!!!

[Art]

Glass, Beshear's spokeswoman, said the contributions don't represent any attempt to buy influence.

"They are just generous people who wanted to give," she said.

This comes as lawmakers returned to Frankfort Tuesday for the 2008 General Assembly, which among other things, is expected to feature a hearty debate over casinos.


Man, that's good stuff right there!:D

I'm still trying to figure out why the Herald Liberal made such a big stink out of Fletchers trip to NYC when he was in office, listing all the expenses and all the names of those who went on the trip yet Beshears trip to NYC with all of his pals (on the tax payers dime) for the New Year hasn't been brought up yet?:confused:

[slickhead slayer]

He cant be no lamer than fletcher,hes the one that got us into this mess..

You have been corrected before on this, but continue to believe what you want. Fletcher left a $300 mill surplus.

I think its funny the article mentions Mike Moloney. Mike was the one 3 years ago who got caught shooting ducks over a baited pond. Had his license taken for 3 years, among other fines.

[CUZZIN]

Your drinking that Koolaid by the gallon my friend. If I'm not mistaken, Fletcher left Beshear with a surplus. Beshear is in turn blaming the massive downturn in the economy that just happened to develope about the same day he took office so he claims. According to him, even though the state budget is a public document, he didn't realize that there were problems until after he took office. He was claiming free tuition before the election, now he's taking money from the schools. He scammed you my friend.

Beshear has one plan and one agenda for his administration. The only chance he has to get anything done is getting big Casino money in KY and raising taxes... If you listen closely to what he is saying, he's saying if he isn't allowed to do this then we are all screwed because he doesn't have a backup plan. Beshear is a puppet that said what people wanted to hear before the election. Most KY voters were all too willing to help pull that trojan horse right into downtown Frankfort.Cant beat that grape flavor:D all jokes aside if there was a surplus of money one day and the next the state is broke where did it go or was it there to start with?Realy i dont understand but taking money from schools is bs that should never be a option.

[Art]

Cant beat that grape flavor:D all jokes aside if there was a surplus of money one day and the next the state is broke where did it go or was it there to start with?Realy i dont understand but taking money from schools is bs that should never be a option.


I can except the fact that the economy may be tanking a bit and that plays a role in the state's projected income. I do however think that much of what we are being told right now is a scare tactic to gain leverage for the upcoming battle for casino's.

You have to think that the best way to scare the public into excepting casino's is by saying we can't come up with enough money as it stands to educate our children or give raises to our state workers.

Call me crazy, but I will not except the theory that the only way this state can go forward is through exploiting a vice. It would be just one more sorry step in taking away all the things that makes KY such a great place to live.

[Duster]

Casino's.....Not long ago I was in Tunica Mississippi..yes at a casino...while in the elevator once we shared it with a old black gentleman who worked there as part of the many locals who got jobs. He told us we sure needed something like this or everyone would still be drawing welfare and living off other fokes work. That made perfect sence to me. Now instead of drawing welfare those same people are working jobs at decent wage paying taxes and are able to take care of their familys. Nobody forces anyone to visit a casino and if your belief is they are wrong then don't visit. I hope they build the biggest one in the state in Muhlenberg county, just like those fokes in Mississippi we need the job's.

[Art]

Casino's.....Not long ago I was in Tunica Mississippi..yes at a casino...while in the elevator once we shared it with a old black gentleman who worked there as part of the many locals who got jobs. He told us we sure needed something like this or everyone would still be drawing welfare and living off other fokes work. That made perfect sence to me. Now instead of drawing welfare those same people are working jobs at decent wage paying taxes and are able to take care of their familys. Nobody forces anyone to visit a casino and if your belief is they are wrong then don't visit. I hope they build the biggest one in the state in Muhlenberg county, just like those fokes in Mississippi we need the job's.


I can guarantee you that it will not make a dent in the number of welfare recipients in this state. I don't believe for one second that a casino will lure people to come off the draw with fresh, exciting new jobs. What would make a job at a casino any different than any other job, is it easier?

The fact of the matter is that more than likely you will have these people that already draw a check spending their handout inside of the casino.

I hope they build the ONLY casino in Muhlenberg Co and way the hell away from my house.:D You guys could use a little more traffic down there, we're all stocked up here.:D

[trader rob]

Casino's.....Not long ago I was in Tunica Mississippi..yes at a casino...while in the elevator once we shared it with a old black gentleman who worked there as part of the many locals who got jobs. He told us we sure needed something like this or everyone would still be drawing welfare and living off other fokes work. That made perfect sence to me. Now instead of drawing welfare those same people are working jobs at decent wage paying taxes and are able to take care of their familys. Nobody forces anyone to visit a casino and if your belief is they are wrong then don't visit. I hope they build the biggest one in the state in Muhlenberg county, just like those fokes in Mississippi we need the job's.

the bums won't work until the money is cut off.
the casino will be in maysville, they already bought couple thousand acres for it.

[Duster]

I am sure there will be more than one casino in the state....All I can do is hope for the best..:D

[trader rob]

I am sure there will be more than one casino in the state....All I can do is hope for the best..:D

i'm sure there will be, hope ya get one.

[Wildcat]

Casino's.....Not long ago I was in Tunica Mississippi..yes at a casino...while in the elevator once we shared it with a old black gentleman who worked there as part of the many locals who got jobs. He told us we sure needed something like this or everyone would still be drawing welfare and living off other fokes work. That made perfect sence to me. Now instead of drawing welfare those same people are working jobs at decent wage paying taxes and are able to take care of their familys. Nobody forces anyone to visit a casino and if your belief is they are wrong then don't visit. I hope they build the biggest one in the state in Muhlenberg county, just like those fokes in Mississippi we need the job's.


I lived and worked in Memphis for 27 years and went to Tunica all the time, I was just 12 miles away right on the stateline. As for the jobs, the guy sold you a load. First off the top spots go to people from Las Vegas, the people under them have several degrees in college and can get a great paying job anywhere. Under them is the largest group of workers in the casinos, the dealers, bartenders,etc. The vast majority of them lived in Memphis, Tn not Mississippi.

The casino in Ill north of Paducah is run the same way, all the top are from Vegas and the majority of workers are from Paducah.

If you think they will build a casino in your county look around. A casino is a business and they will only build one or more close to a large city. The larger city the more casinos they can support. Memphis gave Tunica it's start with enough people and it could grown from there to where it could have it's own draw for people around the country. If you are next to a large city like that then you are in luck otherwise the people will have to move out to get jobs.

[AteUp]

He cant be no lamer than fletcher,hes the one that got us into this mess..

Reading comprehension's not one of your stronger suits, is it?

[Duster]

Still no matter what you say it will create job's. Maybe not the top ones but the dealers and support people have to come from some place. I remember when the river boats first came into NW Indiana and the dealer schools classes stayed full. Most were sent by the state employment agency and those were unemployed fokes like it or not. Near big city or not makes no differance job's are job's and payroll taxes are taken out.

Wildcat you should travel interstate 40 west into Oklahoma and see the number of casino's out in the middle of nowhere...those Indian's have a thing going on for sure.

[CUZZIN]

Reading comprehension's not one of your stronger suits, is it?Naaa not one of my better subjects:(

[Wildcat]

Wildcat you should travel interstate 40 west into Oklahoma and see the number of casino's out in the middle of nowhere...those Indian's have a thing going on for sure.

Those Indians put their own casino's on THEIR OWN LAND and run them totally different. The State of Oklahoma has nothing to do with them. The Indians make their own laws because that is their land, their own nation, not part of Oklahoma. They pay no taxes on any of that money except what they spend on US stuff. THAT is one way they was able to make it pay off.

Unless you can find some Indians with their own land under US Treaty here in Ky it will not happen that way.

[Duster]

Those Indians put their own casino's on THEIR OWN LAND and run them totally different. The State of Oklahoma has nothing to do with them. The Indians make their own laws because that is their land, their own nation, not part of Oklahoma. They pay no taxes on any of that money except what they spend on US stuff. THAT is one way they was able to make it pay off.

Unless you can find some Indians with their own land under US Treaty here in Ky it will not happen that way.


Pretty cool those indians bought up some nice property along the interstate hwy and put those casinos on it...lots of 5 acre reservations I guess. We used to visit the Indian casino at the Wisconsin Dell's ran by the HO CHUNK tribe..funny not many indian's working there but lots of local fokes.

[Wildcat]

They didn't buy a darn thing, That is THEIR land by treaty with the US govt. Look at some maps, they show Indian Reservations. The largest reservation in Oklahoma is the Osage and there are dozens smaller ones in that state. They are all over the north centeral though the entire west states.

The funny thing is ever though they pay no federal taxes they can get federal and state welfare.

http://www.ovc.edu/missions/indians/mapokla2.htm#map

[ditchdigger]

Cuzzin or somebody asked where the surplus went....that it disappeared the day Beshear took office....think about it....Beshear TOOK it! DUH!

[JDMiller]

Theres no way I could believe there ever was a surplus. Down here on MSU's campus we have the second phase of a 45 million dollar science complex project setting with a roof & 4 walls ... just a shell. Job was shut down for lack of state funds distributed for phase two in October. Contractors pulled out... most of the job trailers gone... the university had to use about 1.5 million out of their own operating budget to finish drying it in. Their in need of about 15 million to complete phase two and still have one building left to complete the biology,chemistry & physics complex.

I've been around to see many totaly state funded buildings / projects constructed on campus. This was the first time I've ever seen construction stop completly because of funding. I'll also add this took place before Beshear... fact being... it was while Fletcher was making tours to communities taunting the surplus money the state had. :rolleyes:

Now MSU has a 3 1/2% budget reduction before July 1...after that 2007-08-09-10 bienium budgets can expect a 7% reduction of funds. I also sit on my daughters highschool SBDM council.. thats also the amount our local county school system could possibly be hit with next physical school year. We discussed that at our meeting last week.

Surplus.... yea right.

[maxcam]

You have been corrected before on this, but continue to believe what you want. Fletcher left a $300 mill surplus.

I think its funny the article mentions Mike Moloney. Mike was the one 3 years ago who got caught shooting ducks over a baited pond. Had his license taken for 3 years, among other fines.

What district is he in so I can follow him in the event he decides to run for the KDFW commission.......:rolleyes:

[AteUp]

What district is he in so I can follow him in the event he decides to run for the KDFW commission.......:rolleyes:

Wow, impressive how you can weasel your whining into just about any thread going.

[Art]

I'll tell you something else some of you might be aware of that I find interesting. If any of you drive the BG parkway through Versailles then you know that a few months ago they started a project to replace the Hwy 33 bridge that crosses over the BG and shut it down to 1 lane there. Now, I'm no structural engineer but anyone can tell by looking at the large chunks of missing concrete and severe cracks that are stained from dripping rusty water that this bridge NEEDS to be replaced.

They came in, put up one of those signs they always do that describes the project and tells that it was Fletcher who signed off or whatever. That sign was pulled out of the ground as soon as Beshear took office and all of the construction stopped. There is half of a new bridge there and all the workers are gone. I think this is crazy but I also think it might be a way to try and convince all the people that drive by this project that the state doesn't have enough money to make repairs that are a public safety concern. Beshear is telling us that we better get some casino's before people start dying.:D