Recent editorials from Kentucky newspapers:
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Jan. 31
The Lexington Herald-Leader on how Sen. Mitch McConnell responded to President Trump’s travel ban:
President Donald Trump’s abrupt order on immigration and the resulting chaos and protests from many quarters have put Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a bind, no doubt about it.
The awkwardness of McConnell’s situation is painfully evident in his public attempt to simultaneously straddle as many positions as possible.
McConnell’s office referred reporters to his Sunday appearance on ABC’s “This Week” in which he voiced support for Trump’s desire to “tighten the vetting process” while also putting some distance between himself and Trump. McConnell said that “some of our best allies in the war against Islamic terrorism are Muslims,” that he opposes any religious test and that he was “obviously” against the exclusion and detention at airports of Iraqis who had helped the U.S. in Iraq.
But, try as she might, correspondent Martha Raddatz could not get a clear answer from McConnell on whether he supports Trump’s executive order.
It even seemed to slip McConnell’s mind that he serves as a leader of one of the three branches of government. Twice he said the courts would determine if Trump’s order went too far - as if Congress is a mere disinterested bystander.
Certainly, Trump disrespected Congress as well as the relevant executive branch agencies by failing to consult them before issuing a poorly vetted order that caught international travelers in the air while putting this country’s refugee program on temporary hold, indefinitely halting refugees from war-torn Syria and banning citizens from seven predominantly-Muslim countries from entering the U.S..
Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican from Tennessee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is someone a Republican administration might chat with before issuing an order so disruptive to this country’s relations with the rest of the world. But Corker told reporters on Monday that he had learned of Trump’s order from reporters. “Thank you for that,” Corker told the press corps.
Trump’s people have yet to say how they plan to change the vetting process for foreign nationals entering this country.
McConnell must hold together a caucus fractured by Trump’s ascendancy, which inhibits him from speaking as bluntly as some of his Republican colleagues, including Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham who predicted that Trump’s order will “become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism.”
Trump’s action invites other countries to mistreat U.S. citizens, including U.S. military personnel. It shames our nation of immigrants. That shame was eased by the many spontaneous protests and shows of support for immigrants at airports and cities, including Louisville.
Kentucky’s McConnell is a bit like the dog who catches the car. In possession of the political power he’s long sought, McConnell may find that what’s demanded of real leaders in the Trump era is less slippery rhetoric and more clarity, both moral and constitutional clarity.
Online: https://www.kentucky.com/
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Feb. 1
The Advocate-Messenger of Danville on education in the state:
Kentucky is among the five least educated states in the nation, according to a WalletHub study that came out last week.
Kentucky was ranked 47th out of 50 states for percentage of residents with associate’s degrees or college experience. The state was also 47th in percentage with a bachelor’s degree.
The study placed Kentucky 46th in education and 46th in annual median household income.
Education and economic success are closely correlated. No doubt there can be highly educated people with very little money and extremely uneducated people who wind up with a lot of cash. But in general, more education leads to better and higher-paying jobs.
Kentucky’s poor educational attainment can be tied very closely to poor economic success.
If we want our state to do better, we need to improve our educational system. Our schools and universities need more money, not less - less is what they’ve been getting for years.
It will take real investment now if we want to realize long-term improvement. We can’t just tweak the existing system or place our hope in “solutions” that claim to magically make things better without any extra cost.
It’s an expense now, but it’s one that pays off immensely in the future - well-educated people return many times more money in taxes and contributions to the economy than it costs to educate them in the first place.
Online: https://www.amnews.com/
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Feb. 2
The Louisville Courier-Journal on ’ban the box:’
Gov. Matt Bevin just made it a lot easier for thousands saddled with a criminal past to find a job, and removing that hurdle goes a long way to reducing the risk they’ll re-offend.
Bevin’s executive order to “ban the box” removes this question on employment applications for some state jobs: “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?”
If you don’t have a criminal history, you’ve probably never given the question a second thought. For job seekers with a criminal past, it’s an almost certain employment death sentence.
With that high hurdle removed, everyone can be evaluated first on their qualifications for the job. Criminal records are not erased or expunged, but if job seekers pass the first screening, they have a chance to explain themselves and demonstrate how they have turned their life around.
There’s more to do.
The next step is for businesses to ban the box. Bevin urged them to do that, “I want to specifically challenge each and every private employer in this state to think about doing the exact same thing.”
We’ll take it one step further than the governor: Don’t just think about it, do it.
Support for ban-the-box initiatives crosses ideological lines. Billionaire CEO Charles Koch, the frequent supporter of libertarian causes and Republican candidates, banned the box early in 2015 in all his companies, which employ 60,000 people. President Obama followed suit that same year for federal job applications. About 150 state and local governments have banned the box. So has Target, widely known for its support of progressive causes. Walmart is on board. So is Home Depot.
It just makes sense on so many levels. It’s proven that employment reduces the revolving prison door. People who can’t get jobs tend to commit crimes again and go back to prison. That costs money and makes us less safe. People with jobs, though, pay taxes and buy things, increasing our safety and enriching our economy.
It’s morally right and it’s a fair chance at redemption. We commend Bevin for making the right call for Kentucky.
Online: https://www.courier-journal.com/
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