Today's Economic Justice Lobby Day, on the heels of the Governor's budget address, focused on telling legislators that Kentuckians deserve better than the budget cuts proposed by Governor Beshear, and that now is the time for the legislature to offer leadership in moving Kentucky forward with HB 127, a set of revenue and tax reforms that would generate about $333 million a year while making the tax structure fairer and more balanced.

A bunch of first-time lobbyists jumped right in, with members from Warren County to Rowan County talking with legislators about the Kentucky Forward Plan and KFTC's other legislative priorities.  We'll try to update this with some more photos, but here are a couple of good ones of Dana Beasley Brown teaching Rep. Steven Rudy how our tax code impacts Kentuckians across income levels, and members writing letters to legislators that we missed.

   

The Governor is offering his budget address right now. You can watch it on KET.

He's said that "the tricks and band-aids are about used up."  He's expected to balance most of the difference with budget cuts to the essential services of our state government, which will mean layoffs and less dependable public services.  Instead, our state legislature has the opportunity to pass HB 127, the Kentucky Forward Revenue Plan, sponsored by Rep. Wayne.

Take Action!

Economic Justice Lobby Day tomorrow

Come to Frankfort tomorrow to tell the legislature that now is their time to take leadership!

Call your legislators

If you can't come to Frankfort, call the legislative message line (1-800-372-7181) and leave a message for your representative and senator, as well as House Leadership. Here's a suggested message:
"My name is ____ and I live in _____ County. I want to see a better quality of life in Kentucky, and the time is now for the legislature to make it possible. I urge you to support HB 127, the Kentucky Forward Revenue Plan."

Write a letter to the editor

You can also write a letter to the editor of your local paper this week. Here's one way to think about the story that you want to tell:
- I live in _________ County and I’m _______. [Are you a parent? A student? A teacher? Someone who’s concerned about our water quality? Someone looking for a job?]
- I want to see __________. [Name the good things you want to see in your life and your community…Things that we all want, right?]
- But right now_______. [What’s standing in the way? What do you see instead?]
- That’s why, this session, I'm asking ________[your legislator's name] to support HB 127, the Kentucky Forward Revenue Plan sponsored by Rep. Wayne.
- This bill would raise $330 million a year that we could invest in ______________ [How does this bill work toward your vision?], while making the tax structure fairer by lowering taxes for Kentucky's low- and middle-income families.
- Kentuckians deserve a better quality of life, and we can get there with HB 127.

Rowan County members raising money for the Kentucky budget.

Join us on January 18 to tell the legislators: "Kentuckians deserve good schools, affordable college degrees, and healthy communities. The revenue is up to you!"

Kentuckians deserve a good quality of life, and right now, today, we have common sense solutions that would make it possible to invest in smaller class sizes, college affordability, public health and safety, and better protections for our water and air. But a broken tax and revenue system is standing in our way.

Governor Beshear is delivering his Budget Address on January 17, and has warned Kentuckians that his budget will call for about $300 million in cuts, on top of the $1.3 billion in state budget cuts over the last four years.

Lobby!

Come to the Capitol on January 18 to tell the legislators that Kentuckians deserve the good revenue solutions in the Kentucky Forward Revenue Plan, sponsored by Rep. Wayne. HB 127 would raise revenue and make our structure fairer by lowering taxes for low- and moderate-income families. We need the political will and leadership to stand with Kentuckians by choosing the solutions instead of the budget cuts.

We'll get things started in Capitol Annex Room 113 at 8:30 with a solid orientation and to break into lobby groups, but come when you can and we'll make sure you can jump in! Lobbying will continue until the legislators go into session at 2 p.m. If you have any questions, call or email Jessica at 859-276-0563 or jessicabreen@kftc.org

Can't make it out to Frankfort?

If you can't join us in Frankfort on the 18th, you can still make a difference by calling the legislative message line (800-372-7181) and leave a message for your State Representative and the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee asking them to not cut important state services and to support House Bill 127.

Talking about taxes

Are you planning on talking with your legislator about tax reform, but not sure where to start? Here's one way to think about the story that you want to tell:

I live in _________ County and I’m _______. [Are you a parent? A student? A teacher? Someone who’s concerned about our water quality? Someone trying to afford rising energy costs? Someone looking for a job?]

I want to see __________. [Name the good things you want to see in your life and your community…Things that we all want, right?]

But right now_______. [What’s standing in the way? What do you see instead?]

That’s why, this session, I want you to pass/support/co-sponsor ___________ .

This bill would ______________ [How does this bill work toward your vision?]

Will you support/co-sponsor this bill?

Example:

I live in Fayette County, and I’m a parent. I want every Kentucky child to have the opportunity for a world-class education, right here in Kentucky. But his school no longer has a librarian—she was laid off because of budget cuts—and there are 30 kids in the kindergarten classes. That’s why, this session, I want you to co-sponsor HB 127, the Kentucky Forward Revenue Plan sponsored by Rep. Wayne. This bill would let us raise the revenue we need to invest in education, and in making our communities healthy and vibrant. Will you co-sponsor HB 127?

Kentucky has something else to be proud of today:  Occupy Lexington, the longest running Occupy site in the nation (wow, right?!), is celebrating its 100th day today! And in true Occupy Lexington fashion, the celebration is all about inviting people into the space, and into the movement. 

Occupy Lexington is impressive not only for its longevity but also for how participants have been facilitating community learning and engagement. There's a study group working for a People's Budget for Lexington/Fayette County (meeting tonight, and a couple of folks will be talking about the campaign at the Jan 19 KFTC CKY meeting), and Occupy Lexington has launched a campaign called Invest in Kentucky, which seeks to move our state funds back to a local financial institution.

Document

KFTC members shared an analysis of Kentucky's tax structure and solutions to the unfairness and inadequacy built into the current system with members of Occupy Louisville on Friday afternoon.

Shekinah Lavalle, Linda Stettenbenz and Nick Clark presented at an Occupy Louisville teach-in.

Shekinah Lavalle, Nick Clark and Linda Stettenbenz – Jefferson County members of KFTC's Economic Justice Work Team – talked about the types of taxes used to support public programs and services, and how they affect people of different income levels.

They led one exercise in which participants named government programs and policies that have helped, or hurt, employment opportunities and wealth equality or disparity. After World War II, programs such as the GI Bill, a commitment to build an interstate highway system, and the strength of unions helped fuel the economy and move all income groups forward.

However, since 1979 a different set of policies – such as tax policies that favor corporations and the wealthy, union busting and deregulation – led to the stagnation of income growth for working families while accelerating wealth growth for upper-income folks.

Occupy participants Carol Smith and John Miller shared information on The Return to Prudent Banking Act, a Congressional effort to restore major provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act that were repealed in 1999. 

The Glass-Steagall Act, also known as the Banking Act of 1933, was passed by Congress to prohibit commercial banks from engaging in investment speculation, according to information found at glass-steagallnow.com/. The removal of these controls had a lot to do with the collapse of banks and the economic crisis of 2008.

Adam Strobel Barr (pictured left, with wife Rae) first had the idea of putting solar panels on his farm when he learned that he would need to supply power to his farm’s pond to pump out irrigation to his crops.

“The first motivation for me getting this system is that it broke my heart to think about another power line running across the farm.”

And, electric costs are rising. The farm is served by Meade County Rural Electric Cooperative, which just saw a 30% increase in rates this year. With the help of grants from both the state and the county, Adam, his father and uncle installed a solar-powered irrigation pump on their family farm – Barr Farms - earlier this fall.

While these are the first solar panels they have installed on the farm, Adam and his wife, Rae Strobel Barr are no strangers to sustainable practices. They work hard to build healthy soil and reduce the farm’s carbon footprint by using small machinery and draft horses when possible. And, they use these practices as a marketing advantage when selling farm products, which include beef, chicken, eggs and vegetables, to a largely urban, environmentally-sensitive consumer base.

Adam was excited to show off the solar pump (pictured above) to his neighbors at the house party he hosted on November 13th, to benefit Kentuckians For The Commonwealth and Community Farm Alliance.

“I know that the sun is the greatest source of energy we have available to us,” he told 20 guests as they peeked inside the pump to see how it works. “Growing plants is the most efficient way to harness the sun’s energy and we just don’t yet know how to harness it well for other uses, but we’re getting there and I wanted to try this out – to know, does it work? Will it last?”

The pump should last for 20-30 years with minimum repairs and pump 3000 gallons per day even with some cloudy days mixed in, Strobel Barr said. It cost $7000, $1700 of which was supplied from money available for on-farm clean energy projects through the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy and $2500 of which came from the Meade County Agriculture Investment Program.

“When I was in Finland travelling, I noticed that everyone had solar panels – they were everywhere, powering part of all the electricity use you could see,” said Brandenburg resident Beverly Furnival.  She wondered why we don’t have more of these in Kentucky.

Guests also learned about how the geo-thermal heating and cooling system works at Adam’s father’s house, which is located on the farm.

The system’s installer – Chuck Dever of Dever Enterprises in Elizabethtown, KY (pictured right) – told guests that geo-thermal systems are both efficient and have a quick payback. When replacing propane or heating oil the payback time is as little as 4-5 years.

Dever installs the systems in homes of all kinds, including homes as small as 1000 square feet, noting that the average system costs about 1 to 1.5 cents per square foot. He said that through word of mouth Kentuckians are starting to catch on about what an economic bargain it is to heat and cool through geo-thermal.

“I put in the first geothermal system in Hardin County. That was more than 22 years ago. And now, business is booming. It had been increasing and then the federal tax credit really helped it to grow.”
At the end of the party, Adam and Rae asked guests to join KFTC and CFA and then facilitated a discussion about what issues people care about locally. Folks mentioned interest in garnering support for the Meade County farmer’s market and getting more farm-fresh food in area schools.

The group also discussed how advocating for state energy policies that support the growth of renewable energy, such as the Clean Energy Opportunity Act, could make the clean energy systems on Barr Farms more widespread. This bill is supported by both KFTC and CFA through their partnership in the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance.

“But what’s the grand vision? What can we do to change the world, to change our situation?” asked guest Roger Furnival.

“We want to use this conversation as a starting point for talking about sustainable energy in rural Kentucky…I believe everyone changes through a conversation, just like the one we are having tonight. It’s about citizen politics – regular people using their voices,” Adam replied.

Rae highlighted why she and Adam wanted to host a friend-raiser for KFTC and CFA.  She noted that they are interested both in building community in Meade County and connecting these local issues to the larger movements effected by KFTC and CFA’s work.

“Both organizations have been transformative for us because through them, we can have a voice in changing things we care about.”

If you live in Meade or Breckenridge counties and are interested in joining this local conversation, contact nancy@kftc.org.

KFTC has sent a letter with a brief statement of solidarity for an action planned by OccupyCincinnati and OccupySuperCommittee in support of eliminating fossil fuel subsidies from the federal budget. The action focuses on the so-called federal Super Committee that is tasked with eliminating $1.2 trillion from the federal deficit. Ohio U.S. Senator Rob Portman is a member.

The letter, signed by Chairperson Steve Boyce, stated in part:

The grassroots membership of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth stands in solidarity with our neighbors in Ohio and people everywhere who are using non-violent direct action to advance a vision for a more just and sustainable future. We applaud and support the growing movement to end federal subsidies for Old Power fossil fuels; stop the destruction of our land, air, water and health; and hold corporations and political leaders accountable.

We would like to share KFTC’s vision statement with you, as it expresses many of the values and goals we share with this growing movement:

We are working for a day when Kentuckians – and all people – enjoy a better quality of life. When the lives of people and communities matter before profits. When our communities have good jobs that support our families without doing damage to the water, air and land. When companies and the wealthy pay their share of taxes and can’t buy elections. When all people have health care, food, education, clean water and other basic needs. When children are listened to and valued. When discrimination is wiped out of our laws, habits and hearts. And when the voices of ordinary people are heard and respected in our democracy.

Join us:

Monday, November 7th, 2011
10 am to 4 pm
Northside Library Branch
1733 Russell Cave Road
Lexington, KY

The Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance, of which KFTC is a founding member, will host its fall meeting on November 7th. The agenda will include:

-Preview of the 2012 legislative session: Perspectives from key KySEA members including a green energy business and an affordable housing provider, as well as opportunities to plug into KySEA's legislative work

-Overview of the Clean Energy Opportunity Act

-Two exciting presentations on reports related to clean energy by Metropolitan Housing Coalition and Kentucky Environmental Foundation.

Bring a brown bag lunch. We hope you will join us.

Contact nancy@kftc.org to RSVP or for more information.

From Bluegrass Politics:

Candidates for governor on ‘KY Tonight’ for 90 minutes

The three candidates for governor — Democrat Steve Beshear, Republican David Williams and independent Gatewood Galbraith– are scheduled to appear in their second and final debate Monday night on Kentucky Educational Television’s “Kentucky Tonight.”

The show will begin at 8 p.m. ET on KET and at www.ket.org/live and run for 90 minutes.  Bill Goodman will host.

Kentucky viewers with questions may send email, including name and town or county, to kytonight@ket.org or use the message form at www.ket.org/kytonight.

The phone number for viewer calls during the program is 1-800-494-7605.

Viewers may also submit questions on Twitter to @BillKET or #kytonight, or on Kentucky Educational Television’s Facebook page.

So we're encouraging our members to spend some time today coming up with one good question each to call, email, or message in to be answered by the candidates.  It could be a question about Mountaintop Removal Mining, Voting Rights, Economic Justice, Sustainable Energy, or any other issue you care about.  And please also tune into the debate to learn more about the candidates and their stances.