Why do some people believe Trump’s fairy tales? It feels good.

Make voting easier

President Ronald Reagan said that our nation “cannot allow any American’s vote to be denied, diluted, or defiled. The right to vote is the crown jewel of American liberties, and we will not see its luster diminished.”

Kentucky ranked in the bottom third for eligible voter turnout in the 2018 midterm election. The luster of voting is clearly diminished in our state.

After the 2018 midterm, the Herald-Leader published two op-eds on voter turnout in the commonwealth. The one most in line with Reagan’s philosophy suggested three methods that make it easier to vote: early voting, same-day or automatic registration or all-mail voting.

We are one of only 14 states not offering early voting or all-mail voting. Of the top 10 states for turnout of eligible voters in the midterm election, nine offered early or all-mail voting and seven offered same-day registration, according to Ballotpedia.org.

If our lawmakers will look seriously this session into ideas for increasing voter access and turnout, new methods could be available in time for the general election in 2020.

Tamp down utility rates

Vultures are circling.

For 2019, Social Security recipients will get a 2.8 percent increase. For a person who receives $1,500 a month this will be a $42 a month increase. The school board raised taxes to cover security improvements. The electric, gas and water rates are going higher.

By my calculation, total utility and tax increases will take most of that Social Security increase, leaving about an extra $12 a month in my pocket.

When does the retiree get a chance to get ahead? I hope the Kentucky Public Service Commission will say no to requests for outlandish increases in utility costs.

A fairytale world

The question of the decade is: Why do people support President Donald Trump?

We all know why white supremacists do, that is obvious. But why do good people support Trump? It’s because people have been trained from childhood to believe in fairy tales.

From childhood, they were told stories that were fascinating but simply not true. This set their minds up to accept things that make them feel good. Later in life some people mature, study facts and cause and effect, and start thinking more logically, even if the results are undesirable.

So you have this population that loves Trump because he makes them feel good. The more fairy tales and lies he tells the better they feel. Trump is a master liar who knows what makes people feel good and that is what he goes with. Sure, it would be nice if climate change did not exist.

Show me a person who believes in Noah’s ark and I will show you a Trump voter. There are multiple solid scientific reasons the ark did not happen. Some people learn this and some don’t, and those who don’t will accept Trump. But can the world survive on fairy tales?

Try this pension fix

We are apparently more than $38 billion short of meeting the promised retirement benefits for state workers over the next three decades. We know that leadership has mismanaged and planned poorly, which birthed this shortfall in the first place.

We also know that it is totally unacceptable for these Kentucky state workers to be short-changed on their promised retirements.

So, gritting our teeth as Kentuckians, here is some basic math to solve it. If we take a guess at 2 million tax-paying adults adding $100 per year to their state income tax bill, that would raise $200 million each year. And $200 million per year for 30 years equals $6 billion.

But we need $38 billion. So up the $100 increase to $250 per year per person but add a tiered structure based on family household incomes, so the highest-income people pay the highest increase, but everyone pays something

Would I vote to increase my taxes by $250 or a little more to make this shortfall go away, and let the legislators move on to other key issues that need addressing? Yes, I would. Knowing full well it was not my fault.