Kentucky is Better than Gov. Beshear

Kentucky is a mess right now. While the economy has been dismal in nearly every state for years, Kentucky has fared among the worst. As of June 2011, the Commonwealth is the the 12th  worst state in terms of unemployment, with a rate of 9.6 percent. For comparison, one year ago the rate was at 10.3 percent in the midst of “recovery summer.”

But that’s not all. Kentucky currently has a debt of over $41 billion, and an average debt per citizen of almost $10,000. Nearly 900,000 Kentuckians are on food stamps to boot. Kentucky’s bond rating was downgraded by Moody’s to AA2. Another rating agency, Fitch, labeled Kentucky’s bond rating as negative, down from stable while S&P ranks the state a AA-.

On top of that, Kentucky has been named the worst run state in the country. 24/7 Wall Street cites several bleak statistics to support that claim: Kentucky is “43rd in GDP per capita, 47th in median household income, 47th in citizens with high school diplomas, and, at 18.6%, is 48th for percentage of the population below the poverty line.”

All that considered, it is no surprise that when State Senator David Williams announced his candidacy in Kentucky’s 2011 Governor’s race he started with the theme that “Kentucky is Adrift.” The previously mentioned statistics confirm that. But why is Kentucky adrift? The clear answer is that she is a ship lost at sea for lack of a capable captain. Under the leadership of Democratic Governor Steve Beshear, Kentucky is in this sorry state and it is time to change direction.

After promising many reforms to the way Kentucky works, little to nothing has actually been achieved in the four years Beshear has held the governor’s mansion. When it comes to pension reform, a leading expenditure, Beshear said he felt further reforms weren’t necessary. The state debt disagrees. In terms of tax reform, Beshear refuses to make Kentucky competitive by making substantive, positive changes to Kentucky’s out of date tax code that is stifling job creation and hurting business and entrepreneurship. Where education is concerned, Beshear has been just as AWOL. Refusing to take any action than to sign a bill that would raise the Kentucky dropout age to 18, Beshear has turned a cold shoulder to the state’s failing education system. Now, he’s being accused of a felony in his reelection campaign.

After a tough primary, David Williams emerged as a potential change in direction for Kentucky, a state that deserves better. Sen. Williams supports real tax reform, pension reform that actually solves the state’s problems, cutting taxes and slashing the deficit to begin paying down our debts, education reforms that puts parents, not the government, back in the driver seat of their child’s education as well as providing the leadership that Beshear has left us us without.

David Williams is not perfect. No candidate ever is. But one thing is clear in 2011: Kentucky needs change. David Williams is it.

No comments