Reaction to Beshear's Proposal
David Adams has collected a number of reactions to the Governor's budget proposal over at Kentucky Progress, which I'll blatantly repost here:
Rep. Bill Farmer knows taxes. In addition to his legislative duties, he is a tax accountant in Lexington. Farmer isn't impressed with Gov. Steve Beshear's plan to raise the cigarette tax and empty out the Rainy Day Fund rather than cut spending enough to match projected revenues:
"The Governor's proposal is horrible policy. It fails to address the underlying problem and if things don't get better immediately he will have used all of the tricks in the bag."Further "tricks" at that point, of course, would be further tax increases.
House Minority Whip Stan Lee says Beshear's plan is "hypocritical.""They say that it's about getting people to stop smoking, but it's really just about the money. If they wanted people to stop smoking, they would try to make smoking illegal," Lee said.Speaker Jody Richards said:
"The House has a record of strong leadership in these matters. Last session, we expressed our support for additional revenue by passing a cigarette tax to avoid disastrous cuts in education and human services. We in the House have not shied away from the tough decisions when it means doing what is best for Kentucky."
PageOne posts the reaction from Secretary of State Trey Grayson:
Secretary of State Trey Grayson just released a statement on Steve Beshear’s budget plan:
“I am not sure that there are any other ways to articulate that we are going to experience severe pain due to these proposed cuts. This pain should send a clear message to the Governor and Legislature that we must find a bi-partisan, long-term solution to this problem, not just a quick fix. Comprehensive tax reform that will reduce the tax burden on productivity, and thus allow our economy to grow, is the only real answer to this crisis. Until we face this fact, our Commonwealth will continue to bear these difficult decisions.”
(PageOne also has a link to an online survey that currently has the Governor at a 36% good job rating.)
