Another Republican governor is introducing an austerity plan which would greatly harm his state’s future. But this one has a twist; the state’s own Attorney General is suing the governor.

Andy Beshear is a Democrat and made the decision that Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, a Republican, is exercising powers he does not possess. The issue is higher education. He instituted spending cuts of $41 million, or 4.5 percent over the last three months of the fiscal year.

“As attorney general, it is my job to make sure that no public official acts outside of his or her authority, regardless of position and regardless of party,” Beshear said at a news conference Monday.

The change would drastically effect eight universities and 16 community colleges. Over the next two years, Bevin has proposed a reduction of the state’s budget by $650 million in order to reduce the state’s pension deficit of $30 billion dollars.

“No governor has the power to do what this governor has done, and I would sue any governor who did this, whether Democratic or Republican,” Beshear said. “Under his view, a budget is merely a suggestion and the legislature is merely an advisory body. I cannot let such blatant violations of the constitution and Kentucky law stand unchallenged.”

And a new war between the north and south, or Democrats and Republicans, begins.

Regardless of the outcome, the truth is another ugly example of profit before people. Bevin has previously rejected any tax increases for the wealthiest of Kentucky’s citizens, and instead favors lowering the level of the state’s education even further, and increasing the difficulty for Kentucky residents to make life-changing decisions.

A good leader, whether on the state or federal level balances spending with budget cuts in his or her state. Simply destroying programs necessary for moving a state or a nation forward does not work for America. There are several examples of destructive and productive politicians.

Republican governors in many states have stymied their states growth in favor of profits for big business and support of special interests. Mike Pence in Indiana; Scott Walker in Wisconsin; Sam Brownback in Kansas; Rick Snyder in Michigan: Phil Bryant in Mississippi; Pat McCrory in North Carolina; Greg Abbott in Texas; Rick Scott in Florida; Nathan Deal in Georgia, and more, are destructive forces in their states. They all ran on family and religious values, but have no ability to govern. Each of them is Islamophobic, misogynist, homophobic, and racist in their philosophies.

America must return to the ideals of our founding fathers, and it must begin with our state’s governors. They must decide that for their state’s to prosper, they must institute policies which are progressive and create jobs, and refuse to allow special interests such as the Christian religious right to interfere in prosperity for all of their residents.

As a county we can no longer isolate ourselves from the progress of the other developed nations. As racism and elitism grow in our nation, we either deny these failures of humanity, or die as a once great nation.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

Source

Photo Courtesy of Ken Lund

Novels by James Turnage available on Amazon’s Kindle