Medicaid plan unwise

If Gov. Matt Bevin thinks having 30 percent of Kentucky citizens qualify for Medicaid is unsustainable, perhaps he should look for solutions instead of punishments. I can think of a few. Fund high-quality education for all of our children so they will qualify for higher-paid jobs. Then work to attract those jobs to Kentucky instead of low-wage prison and service jobs.

Our people are not stupid and are capable of doing more if given the opportunity and the right tools. Raise our minimum wage so people can afford to pay their basic cost of living, including health insurance. Don’t be afraid of not being able to entice businesses to locate in our state. If we are only interested in attracting the kinds of businesses that pay low wages, we are never going to get out of this mess.

I know these are long- term solutions, but they will work to improve the fiscal stability and the sustainability of our state and our homes. When we have more money to spend, our economy grows and more jobs are created, generating more taxes to fund our governmental needs and making people self-reliant, giving them back their dignity.

In the meantime, stop gutting Medicaid. It is pretty hard to work when you are sick or in pain.

This story was originally published July 2, 2016 at 7:16 PM with the headline "Medicaid plan unwise."