Fellow Kentuckians—it is time for us to come to the aid of our Commonwealth. It is time to breathe life into our beloved slogan, “United we stand.” It is time to belly up to the bar of effective self government, so that we do not go belly up. Simply put, it is time to pay more taxes.
What goes for Kentucky goes for the nation. Overall, our taxes are lower now than they have been in decades. In fact, the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts have so starved the federal treasury ($1.7 trillion over 7 years) that more costs for essential services have been pushed onto the states, worsening our deficits.
The impetus for today’s plea is the coincidence of my work as a Guardian ad Litem representing dependent, neglected and abused children and the recent stories of Kentucky reaching yet another low by leading the nation in child deaths from such abuse. Plans to open family courts (now held in private for the protection of the children) may be worthwhile, but may also obscure a key issue: too few social workers, the real heroes who protect our children and help their parents get back on track.
Some social workers currently have up to twice the recommended national caseload. This means that many children—as well as their parents who need rehabilitative services—simply cannot get all the attention required, despite the yeoman efforts of overstressed workers. Other essential state agencies are similarly underfunded.
The governor and his team have done a fine job of eliminating waste and are now cutting into the marrow. Undoubtedly, more savings can be found by repealing wasteful tax breaks, adopting penal reform and other measures. But this will take time; a tax hike will hasten the task, while providing much needed revenue now.
Naysayers scream that taxes should never be raised, especially in a tough economy. Yet now is the perfect time, not merely to raise life-saving revenue, but to stand up and confront the utterly false notion that government is an evil to be, in the words of anti-tax guru Grover Norquist, “drowned in the bathtub.” Enough with letting such false voices of futility divide and weaken our nation!
The truth is that America was founded upon and has attained its current stature by virtue of a strong, citizen-oriented government. Thus, this call for a small tax hike (1% more on most, an additional 1-2% for the top wage earners) honors our heritage and stands for the bedrock truth that government is good and necessary, that its employees are truly exemplary public servants and that taxes are a noble expression of our devotion to our world-leading social contract, so boldly begun by our founding fathers over 200 years ago.
As my grandfather used to say, “Taxes are the cheapest rent we can pay to live in the greatest country in the world.” Let us come likewise together for our common wealth, our Commonwealth, our Kentucky home.
Richard Frank Dawahare 3/6/10
