Austerity Killing Kentucky

This is how austerity kills the economy:

Government spending grows the economy because it puts money in the pockets of middle-class workers and poor people who then spend that money on food, shelter and other necessities. Cut government spending, workers have less money to spend and the real economy starves.

Government tax cuts for the rich puts money in the overseas bank accounts of obscenely wealthy parasites, who sit on their cash and watch the American middle class turn into serfs.

Jack Brammer at the Herald:

The impact of the across-the-board federal spending cuts on Kentucky programs ranging from special education to social work is expected to be more devastating next year than this year, state education and human resources officials warned lawmakers Thursday.

They said the federal cuts, known as sequestration, will mean tough decisions for state legislators as they craft the state's next two-year budget in Kentucky's 2014 General Assembly that begins in January. The budget depends on state and federal tax dollars.

Education Commissioner Terry Holliday told members of the state legislature's budget committees that the federal cuts to education this state fiscal year that began July 1 will amount to about $26 million.

Meanwhile, Beth Jurek, budget chief for the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said the cuts to the cabinet amount to about $8.2 million in fiscal year 2013 and between $17.7 million and $18.4 million the following year.

Hiren Desai, the education department's associate commissioner for administration and support, said the impact of the cuts will be worse next year, particularly on school staffing, as school districts struggle with dwindling federal funds.

He predicted that "a perfect storm" will develop early next year when the public realizes the impact of the federal cuts and state lawmakers have to produce a balanced budget.

And I predict their solution will be to cut social services and education for the working class, and cut taxes for the rich and corporations. Not that that's any different than what they've always done.