KY Medicaid cuts are part of plan to make the rich even richer | Opinion
Funding the rich
U.S. Rep. Ken Fleming, R-Louisville, proposed HB 2 which cuts Medicaid Funding for poor Kentuckians. It passed the House with all Republicans voting for it. He called the current Medicaid funding “unsustainable unless something changes.”
It’s unsustainable because Republican legislators are removing the Kentucky income tax. Who benefits from the income tax cut? Well, Rep. Fleming for one. He and other legislators now pay only 58 percent of the income tax they paid a few years ago.
Who does NOT benefit? Kentucky families who don’t make enough income to pay ANY income tax. Their tax cut is zero and they shoulder more burdens to the state government through other taxes and reduced services. So, the income tax cut benefits the more well-off citizens — part of a general Republican philosophy to make the rich richer.
Republicans will continue to grind down the poorest among us. Republicans know that by effectively cutting funding for education they can keep the poorest segment of the population ignorant of what is in its best interest. We need to keep advocating for the poor while hoping they will elect people who care about their situation.
Michael Kennedy, Lexington
SAVE Act
If my grandfather were alive today, he would not be able to vote under the SAVE act.
He was born in Chicago, but there is no record of his birth. He was adopted and never even knew the actual date of his birth. My mother, born in Canada, moved to the United States in 1944 when she married my dad, a U.S. citizen. She voted in the U.S until her death in 2014. She was never able to get a U.S. passport because her citizenship records were lost by the government. Under the SAVE act, she would not be able to vote today. She could be detained in a concentration camp and deported by ICE.
Obtaining passports and birth certificates can be very complicated and even impossible. The SAVE act is designed to prevent people from voting and would likely impact lower income people the most. We wouldn’t be dealing with this voter suppression SAVE act if it weren’t for the lies and corruption of President Donald Trump and his supporters. If the SAVE act becomes law, I believe Trump will interfere with the process for obtaining birth certificates and passports.
Beverly C. Johnson-Miller, Lexington
Baird testimony
Fayette Commonwealth Attorney Kimberly Baird should not have allowed herself to be used by the Kentucky House Impeachment Committee to testify and submit evidence against Fayette County Circuit Judge Julie Goodman in a proceeding that was initiated through an unverified petition by a man who does not live in Fayette County, and has never appeared in a case before Judge Goodman.
Lacking evidence to proceed, rather than dismissing the petition, the committee chose to invite Baird to testify and submit evidence, including for cases that are still under appeal and could be decided in Baird’s favor by the appellate courts. Neither the petition nor Baird allege any crimes including misdemeanors that are subject to impeachment.
Baird could have filed a complaint concerning her disagreements with Judge Goodman with the Judicial Conduct Commission. She admitted she could do this but chose not to, instead going for the kill, impeachment, a remedy that is rarely used, and when it is, for real crimes like fraud or corruption, which are not alleged by anyone, even Baird, about Judge Goodman.
When it is Baird’s turn to run for reelection, I hope voters remember Baird’s undemocratic effort to cancel the voters’ decision to elect Judge Goodman.
Chris Westover, Lexington
Keep fluoride
I was raised on a farm in Ohio and a well provided our water. My parents were diligent, and I brushed my teeth twice a day. Still, by the time I was seven I had several cavities in my teeth and this pattern continued through my childhood. Over the years, much time and money was spent on my teeth. My children were raised in Lexington with city water. They are both well into adulthood and between them they have, over the years, had one cavity. I heartily endorse that there be no change in the state statutes about fluoride in water systems. This seems a simple issue to me. Let’s go with the science.
Cindy Frase, Lexington
Snowy roads
I am upset about the many reactions to Lexington’s road conditions following brief but suddenly devastating “snow showers.” The circumstances the city faced made it very, very difficult to provide clear roads that morning. It is easy to blame and many did, including my favorite news editor; a council member who doesn’t seem to know that New Circle Road is not a city-maintained roadway; a former Board of Adjustment colleague and mayoral candidate who used this as a political opportunity; and even the Governor, even though he is responsible for the state maintained roads, including I-75, New Circle and many others.
Lexington, it is important to respect and trust the good people who are working so hard to clear our roads, given the time factors, the critical collection of equipment and materials, and the organization of the huge labor pool required. Criticize if you will, but I know these people. They care a great deal about your convenience and safety, and their dedication to the task they are given is beyond question. Mayor Linda Gorton has a passion for serving you, me and all of Lexington. She is the perfect example of the best in public service.
Harry Clarke, Lexington
Another low Barr
I thought U.S. Rep. Andy Barr’s, R-Ky., ad claiming that it is not a sin to be a male set a new low for political ads. But Barr’s latest ad goes even lower.
Barr stands among barrels of aging bourbon, holds a glass of bourbon over ice, and raises it with a cheery wink, says this will make the liberals mad and toasts: “Here’s to ICE!”
But this ad should outrage everyone who watched in horror as ICE agents shot Renee Good three times as she smiled at them and tried to drive away. This ad should anger everyone who saw ICE agents killing Alex Pretti as he tried to aid a fellow protestor. And no parent would cheerfully toast ICE agents who unlawfully abducted a five-year-old child as a ploy to arrest his father.
Barr must think this ad is a witty and clever way to “own the libs.” But there is nothing clever or witty about masked ICE agents yanking folks from their cars, conducting warrantless raids of homes, and opening fire on folks exercising their First Amendment rights. Barr is willing to sink ever lower in his quest to be a US Senator.
Rena Wiseman, Lexington
Alzheimer’s legislation
As many as half of the over 80,500 Kentuckians living with Alzheimer’s disease are not diagnosed. Yet an early and accurate diagnosis can improve the quality of life and reduce the financial impact of the disease. Earlier detection and diagnosis would allow people to access treatments when they would be most effective, and implement modifiable risk reduction strategies.
Thankfully, U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., can play an important role in accelerating access to blood biomarker tests and earlier detection of Alzheimer’s and other dementia in Kentucky and across the nation. The bipartisan Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act creates a pathway for Medicare coverage of U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved dementia blood biomarker screening tests. The ASAP Act would also allow coverage for future test methods approved by the FDA, ensuring beneficiaries do not face unnecessary delays or barriers to detection and treatment.
As a physician-in-training who has multiple loved ones affected by Alzheimer’s disease, I understand a quick diagnosis is crucial for patients and their families, and can change the course of disease for many. Please join me and the Alzheimer’s Association in encouraging Barr to support the ASAP Act.
Katie Gaines, Lexington
“Peace”ful Trump
President Donald Trump keeps saying if he had been president in 2022, the Russia-Ukraine War would not have happened.
What would Trump have done as president to keep Vladimir Putin’s Russia from attacking Ukraine?
Trump can possibly legitimize his boasting by telling the world just how he could have prevented a horrific four-year war that’s still going on in 2026.
Prone to lying, exaggerating and boasting, Trump is becoming more unbelievable each passing day.
Paul L. Whiteley Sr., Louisville
Infrastructure investment
On a recent road trip, I visited several rest stops. These rest stops were in decidedly poor condition. Some were unclean. Garbage cans were dented, filthy and needed to be replaced. Picnic areas were litter strewn and the picnic tables were broken and filthy.
On another trip via air, I noticed dirty airports and dirty airport bathrooms. The upholstery on the chairs in the gate areas was cracked and in need of replacement.
These places give our country a third world feel. Is this what we want visitors from other countries to see while we give tax cuts to our wealthiest US citizens, go to war in Iran, deport legal hardworking immigrants and build a $400 million dollar vanity ballroom? I suggest we use US tax dollars for maintenance of our infrastructure.
Ellen Hume, Lexington
Balanced budget
In a recent Op-Ed, U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said the U.S. Constitution needs a balanced budget amendment. However, the Constitution already calls for Congress to have a balanced budget in “Section 8: Powers of Congress” — “Congress shall pay the Debts of the United States.”
For over 200 years, Congress followed the Constitution. In 1980, the U.S. national debt was $1 trillion. Then, Ronald Reagan ran for president on the trickle-down economics platform. In his second term he realized it wasn’t working and rescinded some of his tax cuts, but not enough to balance the budget.
It wasn’t until President Bill Clinton eliminated the remainder of the Reagan tax cuts that the government had a balanced budget again.
George W. Bush got elected next and immediately made his own tax cuts even though he was also starting two wars. Then Trump made his tax cuts in both his first and his second term. The Bush and Trump tax cuts are still being charged to the national debt, pushing it to the ridiculous level we have today.
Trickle-down economics has already stolen over $38 trillion dollars from future generations, increasing by about $3 million every minute. My kids and your kids are getting stuck with that debt.
Kevin Kline, Lexington
Angry Kentuckians
Kentuckians are swimming in anger nowadays. In our ex-urban and rural regions, we’re still intensely angry about the jobs that were exported a decade or two ago. Then, we’re angry over the fateful “deplorables” comment by a candidate who lost in the 2016 election.
As for our urban areas, we’re angry about centuries of systemic racism that was called backed to our attention by awful acts of police violence in many cities. Kentucky’s suburbs might not be as angry as the rest of us, though. They’ve got good jobs, and they haven’t been exposed to as much police violence.
How’s this all this anger working for us? For one thing, it’s surely distracting us from serious problem solving. We’re not listening to each other. Worse yet, we’re overreacting too much and thinking too little.
As for me, I’m hoping that more Kentuckians from different regions meet each other, incidentally, and discover they just might like each other more than they were expecting.
Such meetings might plausibly happen at UK games, the Kentucky State Fair, an outlet mall, a 4-H camps, or during a tour of Mammoth Cave. There are a great many possibilities.
Tom Louderback, Louisville
Edited by Liz Carey