Over the last couple of weeks, we've been seeing more pieces of evidence that Kentucky's economic policies aren't working for our families and communities.  Here are a couple of examples:

• From the Courier-Journal, an article about the costs of utilities outpacing paychecks.  Gas has gone up 54%, electric 34%, and water 128% since 2000. Wages, of course, have been pretty much stagnant, and while lawmakers could have passed mechanisms to help make energy cleaner and more affordable, and could have passed a state Earned Income Tax Credit to help low-income working families who've been hit by the reession, they chose to do neither.
  
• From the Courier-Journal, an article that reports that more of Kentucky's kids are living in poverty this year than last.  Relatedly, KFTC members have been gathering reports and stories from our allies in the family services world, and as one service provider told us, "It's clear that we're not taking care of our kids."  Stay tuned for members' stories about the impact of chronic budget cuts on Kentucky's kids.

But we've also been seeing some good words in those papers, too, with solutions outlining a way out of this mess.  Here's an excerpt from a letter from Erik Lewis from Rowan County, published in the Herald-Leader:

'Leaders' don't lead on progressive reform of tax code

Grateful to have a state budget, Kentuckians may be too forgiving of its lousy contents and the lack of political leadership that produced it.

...

Powerful forces have long worked to turn citizens against the idea of "progressive taxation," that people should pay taxes according to their capacity to pay. Higher taxes on rich people are supposedly unfair and counter-productive. Yet there's no harm in cutting school budgets or imposing furloughs for state employees? Who among us, if and when we earn high income, wouldn't be willing and able to pay a couple of extra cents per dollar in taxes on such earnings? Perhaps if people lead, leaders will follow.

Erik L. Lewis, Morehead

Erik's last thoughts are good ones to close this post, aren't they.