If it’s true, as Shakespeare said, that misery loves company, then Kentucky has no reason to feel lonely during this recession. Kentucky was one of 44 states to report a decrease in jobs in April.
But believe it or not, there is a tiny sliver of good news in that. Even though Kentucky lost jobs in April, it was one of a handful of states in which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the unemployment rate did not change significantly in April. One hopes that that is an early indication that the worst of the recession is over in this state. A flat unemployment rate is at least better than one that is on the rise.
The U.S. Labor Department reports that Kentucky lost 72,500 nonfarm jobs between April of 2008 and April of 2009. If that sounds bad, it is. But it could be worse. California had a whopping 63,700 jobs disappear in just April alone. Two states bordering Kentucky — Ohio with 25,200 fewer jobs in April and Illinois with 23,100 lost jobs — had among the nation’s highest number of jobs lost during the month. Given the financial woes of the U.S. auto industry, it is not surprising that Michigan — which lost 38,100 jobs in April — had the nation’s highest percentage of job losses.
In the last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that nonfarm employment decreased in all but two states — North Dakota and Alaska — and in the District of Columbia. Of course, with Congress and the Obama administration spending record amounts of money in an attempt to boost the economy, it is not the least bit surprising that there still are plenty of jobs available in Washington.
Kentucky’s jobless rate was 9.8 percent in April, or 3.7 percent higher than it was in April of 2008.
In such times, the financial woes Frankfort is experiencing should surprise no one. After all, the state depends heavily on income taxes — both individual and corporate — and revenue is bound to decline as corporate profits dwindle and more Kentuckians are unemployed. The sales tax is another major source of revenue, but about the only time individuals pay more than a few dollars in sales tax is when they purchase a vehicle or major appliance. As sales of such large-ticket items plummet so does state revenue. That’s why Kentucky is looking at a budget shortfall that could top $1 billion for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
Of course, Kentucky is not alone. Unemployment is much higher in other states and other states are facing budget shortfalls that make Kentucky’s look like pocket change.
But we think Shakespeare was wrong. The fact that others share our misery does not make it any easier to take. And the fact that other states are being forced to make deep cuts in essential state programs and services does not make such cuts any less painful in Kentucky.
What Kentucky and the nation as a whole really needs is some positive economic news — and soon.
Editorials
Shared misery – 05/24/09
Fact that other states are in same boat doesn’t lessen pain
- Editorials
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Charles Chattin
Before it merged with Ashland Community College to form Ashland Community and Technical College as a result of the 1997 Higher Education Reform Act, the Ashland Area Vocational-Technical School compiled an impressive record for teaching job skills to young adults and placing more than 85 percent in jobs for which they were trained.
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Try again
It is time for Kentucky Speaker of the House Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, and Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, to cease playing political games and redraw district lines that are compact and are based far more on population changes during the first decade of this century than on partisan politics.
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'Asset poor'
More than one in four Kentucky households are “asset poor,” meaning that they are living from paycheck to paycheck with little or no financial cushion to fall back on should they suddenly lose their jobs or have another emergency resulting in a temporary loss of or delcine in income.
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Safer mines
The head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) says coal operators throughout the country are improving their operations and, as a result, mines are becoming safer. However, MSHA chief Joe Main said too many coal operators still “don’t get it” and are continuing to cut costs by ignoring safety. That’s why MSHA plans to continue targeting mines with a history of repeated violations for additional inspections.
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Not far enough
For the past three sessions of the Kentucky General Assembly, bills that would raise the minimum dropout age from 16 to 18 have been approved by the Kentucky House of Representatives by wide bipartisan margins only to die in the Senate without even a vote.
Now the Senate Education Committee has unanimously approved a dropout bill hailed as an alternative to the House bill, but it does not go nearly far enough. It is a halfway measure that would have only a limited effect on preventing teenagers from quitting high school before graduation and virtually assuring themselves of lives on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder.
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Not their job
The local government committee of the Kentucky House of Representatives has wisely killed a bill — dubbed “Cooper’s Law” — that would have allowed the family of the Lexington toddler with cerebral palsy to have a playhouse on their property despite a deed restriction that apparently prohibits such structures.
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Keeping FADE
Despite an increase in cost to the department, Carter County Sheriff Casey Brammell told the Carter County Fiscal Court that his department will continue to be active in the FIVCO Area Development Drug Enforcement (FADE) Task Force — at least for now.
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Needed changes
The soaring enrollment that Kentucky’s community and technical colleges have experienced in recent years could come to a sudden end — or at least be slowed — as about 5,500 students in the statewide system that includes Ashalnd Community and Technical College are expected to lose their financial aid under new rules being implemented by the federal government.
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Released early
While it is disappointing that 75 of the 952 prisoners granted early release in January have violated the terms of their releases, the good news is that none of the former inmates have been charged with new felonies. That’s an early, but positive, indication that the nonviolent felons released before their sentences were up have been carefully selected and are among those least likely to return to a life of crime.
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Obese children
Almost a decade after former Gov. Ernie Fletcher called childhood obesity an “epidemic” in Kentucky, a majority of Kentucky adults still think that there are too many overweight children in the state and they place the bulk of the blame squarely on the shoulders of their parents.
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Charles Chattin
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