Stimulus

STANFORD — The influx of nearly $10 million in federal stimulus money is certainly a boon to Lincoln Manufacturing Inc., but it won’t pay dividends in reducing Lincoln County’s 10 percent unemployment rate. At least not immediately. Kathy McDonald, LMI’s senior accounting manager, said the company will use the $9.85-million guaranteed loan funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to refinance its debt, purchase a new piece of equipment and refurbish another machine.

Vice President Joe Biden (aka the stimulus czar) was in Louisville on Monday along with Rep. John Yarmuth and Gov. Steve Beshear to brag about the stimulus package. Specifically, they were touting a $24.8 million tax credit to GE to make energy-efficient appliances. GE claims it will hire more than 800 people. On the surface, this sounds like good news, but dig a little deeper and you find the real crime of the stimulus package. While I rarely criticize tax cuts, there’s a big problem with this one. It’s company specific, and in order to qualify, GE had to agree to build particular types of appliances based on government guidelines, not consumer demand.

STANFORD — It was standing room only Monday as Masato Sugimura, owner of Stanford-based Lincoln Manufacturing USA, hosted federal and state officials for a funding announcement made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Tom Fern, state director for USDA Rural Development, was joined by Congressman Ben Chandler to announce a $9.85 million business and industry guaranteed loan to finance a number of efficiency improvements that are intended to increase profits, preserve existing jobs and create additional employment opportunities.

Gov. Steve Beshear has approached President Barack Obama with his hands out for some stimulus action, and why not? He's only doing what all but three other state governors are doing. Only Alaska governor Sarah Palin, Rick Perry of Texas, and South Carolina's Mark Sanford have refused to ask for federal bailout funds for their states. Some may think that Beshear might as well get some for us, since everyone else is doing it. They may even think that spreading all of this cash around is actually a good idea.

Dear Editor, I cannot believe that some people buy into this stimulus garbage. When is the last time you signed a contract without knowing what was in it? That is what our leaders did last week. Even the president doesn't know - and he's going to sign it. If it's going to create or save 3 million jobs, then unemployment should drop to 1 percent or less. There is not much in it to help small business or taxpayers even though we're going to be responsible to pay it back. They want this passed immediately, but it won't take effect until after the elections this year or next.

Danville could reap some benefits from President Barack Obama's expansive and controversial economic stimulus package. Signed into law Feb. 17, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocates $111 billion nationally for infrastructure and science, and Kentucky's share is being administered by the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority, a body directly tied to the Department of Local Government. To gain a portion of the allocation, local governments are advised to send forms of consideration detailing projects to KIA by today.

Winchester Municipal Utilities will receive $1.4 million in federal stimulus financing for two water and sewer projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, an official reported Tuesday. WMU General Manager Vernon Azevedo said the utility will get $600,000 for an outfall sewer project on Vaught Court and $800,000 for a water tank rehabilitation project in the Winchester Industrial Park. The Kentucky Infrastructure Authority is doling out the money as low-interest loans with a 50 percent debt forgiveness clause.

Dear Editor, Earlier this year, at the urging of President Obama, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The legislation was intended to help create jobs and stimulate economies in areas impacted by the financial crisis. Kentucky has been particularly hard hit by the economic recession, with unemployment rates in some areas of the Commonwealth twice the national average. Yet, news has surfaced that Kentucky may not be receiving its fair share of stimulus funds.

HARRODSBURG - The uncertainty surrounding the federal stimulus package has been a hot topic for educators recently, and it surfaced Thursday at Mercer County Board of Education's regular meeting. Mercer County Schools finance director Joy Campbell and Superintendent Sonny Fentress, who both spent the day in Frankfort at a finance meeting for the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, did their best to update the board on the status of the stimulus package. Campbell presented the most widely circulated estimates, currently posted on the National School Board Association Web site, which indicate Mercer would receive a total of $1.1 million.

'm not sure President Barack Obama asked for help with sharpening his campaign message, but Politico reports that Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear offered a couple of gems anyhow. First, he advised Obama to cease accepting so much responsibility for our nation's stalled economic recovery. Apparently, Beshear believes Americans' - including Kentuckians' - growing lack of confidence in the current administration has nothing to do with record unemployment, hundreds of billions in failed stimulus spending, forcing unsustainable energy sources on our communities or pushing the country down the treacherous road of socialized medicine.

This is a 60-day legislative session, and our main purpose is to pass a state budget before a new two-year budget cycle begins in July. Over the past three years, Kentucky has relied upon more than $3 billion of federal stimulus money to get us through tough economic times, but that money is now gone. And while the state's revenues are starting to rebound, we are looking at deep cuts to services and programs in order to balance Kentucky's budget.  Even in a good economy, there are always more worthy programs to be funded than dollars available, which makes the development and passage of the state's budget the hardest challenge of every session.

LANCASTER - Garrard County residents seeking employment opportunities now have more computer access, training and job workshops at the new Public Library Workforce Center. The Garrard County Public Library is one of 46 public libraries in the state to become a workforce center. The centers house computers and software that will be used to provide training in a formal workshop setting to Kentucky residents seeking employment opportunities. The centers are made possible by a $1.3 million American Reinvestment and Recovery Act broadband technologies grant provided through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Last week, President Obama decided to make an aging bridge connecting Kentucky and Ohio the poster child for his second stimulus package. With all of the pomposity that typically accompanies an Obama campaign event, he proclaimed himself a “warrior for the middle class” while standing in front of the Brent Spence Bridge in Cincinnati. Pounding his fist on the podium, for what felt like the thousandth time he declared, “Tell Congress to pass this bill!” The bill is the “American Jobs Act,” which his own party ironically doesn't even want to touch with a 10-foot pole.

Last week, President Obama decided to make an aging bridge connecting Kentucky and Ohio the poster child for his second stimulus package. With all of the pomposity that typically accompanies an Obama campaign event, he proclaimed himself a “warrior for the middle class” while standing in front of the Brent Spence Bridge in Cincinnati. Pounding his fist on the podium, for what felt like the thousandth time he declared, “Tell Congress to pass this bill!” The bill is the “American Jobs Act,” which his own party ironically doesn't even want to touch with a 10-foot pole.

I take issue with liberal columnist Brian Cooney, who remains a believer in spending our way to prosperity despite the failure of President Obama's massive government stimulus and bailout. Despite this failed attempt, where money spent for each job created was astronomical, Cooney believes the solution is to spend more and to raise taxes on the rich because they don't spend their money. What does he think they do with it - put it under a mattress? No, they save by investing in equities that provide companies with the capital they need to expand and grow.

Not only does Gov. Steve Beshear refuse to consider cuts in education to solve Kentucky’s Medicaid crisis, but he accused Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, of wanting “our schoolchildren to pay for a shortfall in the Medicaid budget” when Williams proposed paltry cuts in the amount of SEEK funding local school districts receive. The Support Education Excellence in Kentucky program uses a formula for allocating money to cover the costs of transporting and educating the commonwealth’s K-12 students.

Almost two years ago, Nicholasville-based McKechnie Vehicle Components was in dire straits financially because of the onset of the recession. In November 2009, McKechnie, which has manufactured products for the automotive industry for more than 60 years, received a $5 million loan from the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development, courtesy of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. That loan and subsequent aid to the...

STANFORD — It was standing room only Monday as Masato Sugimura, owner of Stanford-based Lincoln Manufacturing USA, hosted federal and state officials for a funding announcement made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Tom Fern, state director for USDA Rural Development, was joined by Congressman Ben Chandler to announce a $9.85 million business and industry guaranteed loan to finance a number of efficiency improvements that are intended to increase profits, preserve existing jobs and create additional employment opportunities.