Speaker Stumbo found his appetite for neglect

On December 15, House Speaker Greg Stumbo was told by a reporter that many legislators don't have an appetite for tax reform.  He said this, as quoted in the Lexington Herald-Leader:

So what happened?

Speaker Stumbo and Senate President David Williams have agreed to ignore the revenue shortfall and instead chose to close the budget gap in the first year of a two-year budget with cuts to health and human services, layoffs and more one-time fixes. What happened to the real revenue solutions that we need and that Speaker Stumbo seemed to promise early in the session?

Some of these cuts are called "contracted positions."  This is a vague term for lots of services that most of us would agree are not only necessary, but smart.  The poison control hotline, for example, is funded largely by its contract through the Kentucky Department for Public Health.  On average, their handful of staff get 192 calls a day from doctors, parents, child care workers – anyone who gets that sick feeling when they realize that someone they love could be in serious danger.  What will it mean if this service is cut?   

More cuts come from Medicaid, even though Medicaid enrollment continues to grow.  Just as Governor Beshear proposed a budget that assumed money from non-existent expanded gambling, House Speaker Stumbo and Senate President Williams are putting forth a budget that assumes that there will be increased federal funding for Medicaid.  Advocates say that this is far from a safe bet.  Asking legislators to spare health services from cuts, a representative from an agency that offers disability services explained that if their agency gets further cuts, they'd need to start rationing the adult diapers.  This, instead of letting people who use limos pay a sales tax on their joyride?

What do you think of the choices that our elected officials are making?

Related story: Human services cuts still possible, key lawmaker says

Take Action

Action #1

Call Speaker Stumbo and your legislators and leave a message.

Call the Legislative Message Line, 1-800-372-7181 (7am-11pm M-F of this week) and ask to leave a message for Speaker Stumbo and your own legislators (if you don't know their names, the operator can look them up for you). Leave a simple message like "Please support the comprehensive tax reforms in HB 13.â€

A message might be: 

"On December 15, you were quoted in the Lexington Herald-Leader:  "I don't have an appetite to turn my back on the needs of our state....I'm willing to do whatever it takes."  We haven't seen much evidence of that in the budget that House leadership is talking about.  There are none of the revenue reforms that you have said were so very necessary, and no policies to make taxes fairer for working-class families. 

It's not too late.  Please support the comprehensive reforms in HB 13"

Action #2

Write a letter to the editor in support of HB 13.

You can find a great how-to here.  It includes links to many of the state and local papers.  Tell your own story of why we need to protect health departments, or the poison control hotline, or Meals on Wheels, or environmental protection, or after-school programs.

Thanks!