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Higher prices pinch Kentuckians

By Karla Ward

kward1@herald-leader.com

Rising gas and food prices, a difficult housing market, the increasing cost of college tuition, unemployment and a volatile stock market are taking their toll on Kentucky families.

Of 600 likely voters surveyed in the Herald-Leader/WKYT Kentucky Poll, 36 percent said they were pessimistic about their family’s financial situation when thinking about the next 12 months, while 25 percent said they were optimistic. The remaining 39 percent were unsure.

Another part of the poll showed gas prices as having the biggest effect on people’s budgets, but the rising cost of food was a close second.

David Aines of Berea is trying to cut his gas and his grocery bills.

“I’m putting out a huge garden because of the food prices,” he said. “You invest less than $100 on a garden, and it’s probably going to save you a fortune in the long run.”

In addition to growing his own corn, onions, watermelons, green beans and potatoes, Aines said he’s stopped shopping for groceries at Wal-Mart and is now buying his food at Save-A-Lot. “I don’t always buy the best cuts of meat,” he said, noting that he also buys meat once it’s marked down close to the expiration date.

Tandy Simpson Hubbard of Lexington said she’s begun looking for the best prices on household items such as shampoo, toilet paper and laundry detergent, since she noticed their prices going up a few weeks ago.

“I’ve been very conscientious of how much things cost where,” she said.

Last year, in anticipation of rising gas prices, she and her husband decided to buy a hybrid car for Hubbard to drive to and from her job in Frankfort.

“We’re very glad we have it now,” she said.

Hubbard said the state office in which she works is allowing employees to shift to a four-day work week to help them cut the cost of commuting, and she plans to take advantage of that option.

Lisa Butler of Lexington has altered her driving practices, too.

She has begun riding a LexVan ridesharing van to and from her job in Frankfort, and she said it has “helped considerably with my transportation costs.”

“When the prices started rising, that really hit me hard,” she said. “I wasn’t able to make ends meet between the gas increases and grocery increases.”

Besides cutting her commuting costs by van-pooling, Butler is planning to move to Frankfort to save even more. She’s also been encouraging her son to unplug his computer and other appliances that could draw electricity even when they’re turned off.

If those cost-cutting measures don’t ease her budget enough, Butler said she may have to consider giving her dog up to a no-kill shelter.

“It’s been in the back of my mind that we may have to,” she said. “It’s a necessity in this economy.”

Stephen Voss, an associate professor of political science at the University of Kentucky, said it’s not hard to spot a trend when tough times fall during an election year.

“Bad economic times harm the political party of the president,” Voss said.

Just how much of an effect hard times have on the political process depends on who’s being hurt and how widespread the pain is.

Because high gas and grocery prices are hitting middle class Americans throughout the country, “I would expect that it will hurt the Republicans much worse than bad economic times usually have,” Voss said.

In the Herald-Leader/WKYT poll, Democrats were more likely to be pessimistic than Republicans. Forty-one percent of Democrats were pessimistic; 30 percent of Republicans were.

And in Kentucky, the economy’s effect on this election might not be as marked as it is in other states, Voss said, because “strong moral traditionalism” could outweigh other issues, and because Kentucky voters’ views don’t always match up with their party’s national stances.

“Pro-life instincts may override slightly higher bread or noodle prices,” Voss said.

Kentucky has been trending conservative but still has credentials as a swing state, because it has voted for the winning presidential candidate every year since 1964.

Joel Turner, a political-science professor at Western Kentucky University, said that without an incumbent in the race, the Democratic and Republican nominees are on equal footing.

“They’re not in charge right now. … They can blame President Bush for everything,” Turner said.

Richard Ray of Danville said he knows that the poor economy, which will probably keep him from taking a vacation this year, probably isn’t all Bush’s fault, but he still plans to vote Democratic in the upcoming election.

“I just think we need change,” he said, adding that if a Democrat had been in office when the economy tanked, he’d be voting Republican this fall.

Hubbard said the economy is a frequent topic of discussion between her and her husband.

“It’ll be something that’s in our minds when we go to the polls,” she said.


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