It depends on you

A poll published by The New York Times shows a remarkable 79 percent of Americans are optimistic about Barack Obama’s presidency.

And while that bodes well for the new president, we would remind that there will be no overnight transformations for our country. If Americans are waiting for President Obama to work miracles, then they surely will be disappointed. And, if they are waiting for him to fail miserably, then they will lose, too.

As Obama challenged in his inauguration speech, our future is “not the vision of those in high office.” Nor should it be. The vision for our future lies within our own homes and communities.

Obama blamed the country’s crisis on a “collective failure to make hard choices.” Many of those “hard choices” are ones we should be making, by the way, not the government.

Let’s talk about education. Are you dissatisfied with the path your child is taking? When was the last time you talked with his or her teacher? When was the last time you talked with his or her principal? When was the last time you attended a school board meeting? And, when was the last time you told your children and your grandchildren that when it comes to finishing high school, it is an expectation, not a goal?

Let’s talk about our town. When a call goes out for volunteers to serve on city committees, do you raise your hand? Or, are you the first in line to complain? Have you ever attended a City Council meeting? Have you ever voted in a city election?

Let’s talk about our health and the skyrocketing costs of care. Do you smoke? Are you overweight? Do you ever exercise?

Let’s talk about energy conservation. What are you driving and how often are you driving? Do you recycle? Do you turn off the lights when you leave the room?

Let’s talk about jobs and the role of employers. Do you demand unreasonable profit margins and still take your bonuses? Would you be willing to forgo your perks so employees can keep their jobs?

Will the change you seek be ephemeral or will it be substantive enough to stick?

The answer to that question depends on you.

The Commonwealth Journal, Somerset; Feb. 6

We need a real boost

Apparently we’re headed toward the end of another meeting of the General Assembly in which lawmakers refuse to address Kentucky government’s big, ongoing problem. Indeed, if the session ends as expected, the state revenue debacle will just get worse.

Many of those who supported Greg Stumbo’s ouster of Speaker Jody Richards did so in the expectation that he could find a way to persuade or maneuver Senate President David Williams into supporting what is euphemistically called “revenue enhancement.” Fat chance, as it turns out.

Knowing lawmakers never would give him all that he requested, Gov. Steve Beshear should have asked for a much larger increase in the cigarette tax and settled for the 70 cents he really wanted. But having said that, it’s the legislature, and most especially the Senate’s GOP majority, that remains unmoved by pleas from those who run underfinanced school systems and poorly funded campuses, those who provide state services to the needy and sick and troubled, those who try to run budget-busted public defender programs and overcrowded prisons.

We need a real cigarette tax hike, not a paltry 30- or 40-cent boost. We need expanded gambling, to stanch the flow of resources into bordering states that have been cleverly ripping off the Kentucky entertainment dollar. Someday, sooner rather than later, we need a thorough reform of the state tax system. ...

What Mr. Williams and Mr. Stumbo clearly intend to do is create minimal new revenue by low-balling a tobacco tax increase and raising already high alcohol taxes, so that state government can hobble along, hoping for federal stimulus help. They’ll tell Mr. Beshear to filch rainy day funds and to cut some more out of a budget that is already, as should be painfully obvious, inadequate.

This is the full, awful legacy bequeathed by years of anti-tax demagoguery in a rural-dominated and self-contented state — a politics that is incapable of meeting Kentuckians’ basic needs.

The Courier-Journal, Louisville; Feb. 10

Keep senior judges

We believe that Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton Jr. is onto something involving a program designed to save the court system more than $1 million and allow the last 22 retiring judges in the state to continue in that role on a part-time basis.

Minton also proposed that the newest senior judges, including seven in Jefferson County, stay where they are indefinitely, saving the courts about $10,000 a month per judge in salary expenses.

This is definitely a welcome proposal considering the state’s budget shortfall.

The decision not to move senior judges would save money because their extra retirement pay comes from a judicial retirement account, not the general fund.

Minton also said that because of the state’s budget shortfall, the courts may move very slowly in appointing new judges to fill open seats.

The only condition for the senior judges is that they agree to continue working part-time around the state for five years after officially retiring.

Currently, senior judges receive around $30,000 a year in additional retirement pay.

The recent rate of retirements has moved the senior-status program to 69 judges, nearly three times more than four years ago.

We believe that these senior judges provide a valuable resource for our state and it is crucial that they continue to serve the commonwealth if they are capable and able.

Minton’s plan would also provide more continuity to our court system.

Some worry that there won’t be enough time for appointments before the next election for District Court judges in November 2010, but Minton said that there will be plenty of time for those appointments.

This program allows us to keep senior judges on the bench and save the state money during a time of unprecedented shortfalls.

Louisville District Judge Toni Stringer, who retired recently to beat the Jan. 31 deadline to participate in the senior judge pension program, put it best when she said, “It would be a win-win for everybody.”

Daily News, Bowling Green; Feb. 10