Stimulus

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 he was referring to is the “American Jobs Act,” which ironically his own party doesn't even want to touch with a 10-foot pole.

Consider this an open letter to our elected leaders. If that is not you, but you agree with what I am about to say, then I encourage you to cut this out and send it to your representatives. There are few people in history who have been so privileged as to live in such historic times. Those who founded this nation were but a small minority, bucking against the status quo. At the time of the revolution, only about 30 percent of the colonial population even wanted to entertain the idea of separation from the British Empire.

During the dark days of the Great Depression, President Roosevelt made every effort to boost confidence. It was then he reminded us, "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself. " Roosevelt knew economic conditions depend critically on optimism and the confidence to plan for better times. President Obama once stated that President Reagan's success was due to his ability to restore a sense of optimism about America following the failures and disappointments of the 1960s and 1970s.

Consider this an open letter to our elected leaders. If that is not you, but you agree with what I am about to say, then I encourage you to cut this out and send it to your representatives. There are few people in history that have been so privileged as to live in such historic times. Those who founded this nation were but a small minority bucking against the status quo. At the time of the revolution, only about 30 percent of the colonial population even wanted to entertain the idea of separation from the British Empire.

Clark County may receive $36.1 million for road improvements in the next biennium if Gov. Steve Beshear signs the proposed two-year state road plan into law. Sen. R.J. Palmer II, D-Winchester, and Rep. Don Pasley, D-Winchester, said Thursday the plan has received approval from the Kentucky Senate and the state House of Representatives. Of the priorities in the $3.7 billion plan, there are $1.2 billion in projects that can be started immediately with new funding sources, including $400 million in state bonds and more than $360 million in federal stimulus funds.

Two weeks ago I met with Gov. Beshear and delivered 16,000 teabags to his office. They had been collected as a form of protest against out-of-control government spending and increased taxation. I didn't just want to protest government irresponsibility; I wanted to actually provide some citizen guidance. I gathered suggestions from economic experts and angry taxpayers for over two months and presented the best of these to the governor along with all the tea he could possibly drink.

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.

Local school districts remain in the dark about when and exactly how much money they will receive from the stimulus package. Congressional estimates have put the total amount of stimulus money for education in Kentucky at about $650 million. Much of that is in the form of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Title 1 funding for schools with higher populations of low-income students. Danville Superintendent Bob Rowland said that his district, like many, can only wait and wonder.