You can't beat up on the job creators

Where are the jobs? That's the question on many people's minds as the economy sputters, D.C. politicians agree on almost nothing and here in Kentucky, questions abound about how the state will pay a coming interest payment on the nearly $1 billion it has borrowed from Uncle Sam to pay unemployment claims. And, yes it's true. Some companies, perhaps many, enjoy big profits and are not hiring.

I've seen liberal columnists like Robert Reich essentially "demand" that U.S. companies with rich cash reserves start hiring. Those same people who blame companies for not hiring are many times also the first to support policies that have a chilling effect on hiring. Let me count three examples:

1) Healthcare reform: Out of the news for the most part lately, but implementation dates of the plan in the next few years still have business and industry nervous. Starting in 2014, businesses with 50+ employees must provide healthcare coverage or pay fines. I know of at least one business with 47 employees in two locations who'd like to open a third but won't because of this predicament.

2) Continued EPA advocacy: Coal-fired power plants in the midwest are in the crosshairs of the EPA. This promises increased electric rates for much of the country. For industry, it will cost millions.

3) Union activities: President Obama was not able to get legislation designed to make it easier to unionize America through Congress. Now, the National Labor Relations Board is proposing changes that are clearly designed to handcuff business and industry's ability to communicate with its own employees during a union organizing effort.

It's no different than refusing to water a garden but expecting a bumper crop. You can't beat up on the job creators and expect them to go on a hiring frenzy. Taxes are always an issue to business and industry, but regulation and red tape is strangling American enterprise and job creation. It's that simple.

A bad bill is a bad bill - SB151

Monday, a Kentucky House committee will again discuss SB151, which would replace the state's three-person appointed Public Service Commission board with a seven-person elected group. On the surface, SB151 doesn't sound all that bad. Electric and natural gas utilities are hardly on most peoples' Christmas card list. As the communications and public relations specialist for Owensboro Municipal Utilities from 1995 to 2000, I've seen firsthand how even the slightest increase in rates--no matter how justified--is hard for the public to swallow.

Indeed, a recent 17% PSC-approved increase in rates from an eastern Kentucky electric utility and the ensuing public outcry caused Appalachian legislators to sponsor SB151. Make no mistake, however, that it's a bad bill. First of all, and even Senator sponsor Ray Jones has admitted, electing the PSC board will not guarantee lower power rates for anyone. Utility costs are heavily driven by personnel, technology and natural resources. Those factors are simply not going to decrease. I don't believe anyone believes the highly-trained men and women working to restore electrical service to our homes and businesses at 2 a.m. following a Kentucky thunderstorm should or would work for minimum wage.

While SB151 supporters are hoping to curry political favor with eastern Kentucky voters, western Kentucky has much to lose. About 20% of the world's aluminum is smelted by producers in western Kentucky, and the process uses extreme amounts of electricity. Big Rivers Electric, based in Henderson, operates the power plants that provide that power. The financial markets where Big Rivers would go to borrow large sums of money to fund improvements to their systems consider elected PSCs to be more "volatile." That, in turn, could lead to higher borrowing costs for Big Rivers and others. That would lead to higher rates for electric consumers, including the aluminum smelters and their thousands of good-paying jobs. The smelters, due to intense foreign competition, will be in danger of leaving the state if such a scenario becomes reality. If the smelters are gone, all residential and commercial customers will see rate increases.

Overshadowing all is the fact that Kentucky's No. 1 economic development advantage has always been its low power rates. Why mess with that? Why become one of only 13 states with an elected PSC, all of which have higher power rates than Kentucky?

SB151 is a bad bill.

Anyone else looking forward to Nov. 3rd?

OK, I'll admit it. I'm as big a "fan" of politics as anyone. I enjoy the banter, the ideas, the advocacy, the little details that make U.S. democracy hum along and churn.

That hum, however, is sounding more and more like fingernails across a chalkboard a little over two weeks from Election Day. Here in Owensboro, the local, state representative and state senator races are somewhat hum-drum with little dirt flinging, if any at all. Most of these candidates are content to make their case for why they should be elected. If we were only so lucky at the national level.

Despite the lack of rain, U.S. Senate candidates Rand Paul and Jack Conway have cobbled together mud pies and are heaving them at record pace. Make no mistake that there are a lot of differences between these two guys. Paul is the TEA party favorite while Conway is not afraid to lean to the left on some issues. I only wish both would spend more time and more advertising money telling us why they are the best candidate for Kentucky instead of why the other guy is bad. I've met and spent time with both Paul and Conway and believe they're both fine people with strong ideas. You don't usually get to be a U.S. Senate candidate for both major parties without having success at many levels along the way. Yet, here we are nearing the end of another long election season and the negativity is astounding.

Yes, independent groups are running negative ads of all sorts in record amounts after a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year. I can't say with certainty whether it's a good idea or not for these groups to spend money on campaigns in this fashion. What I do know is that the resulting negativity I'm seeing is not good for democracy. Anyone else looking forward to November 3rd?

Good things happen when people work together

There we were last Friday, in far west Kentucky, Hickman County at Columbus-Belmont State Park, another of Kentucky's great treasures. Sitting in front of a crowd of about 30 people were Kentucky Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock (at podium) and Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner Michael B. Cline (second from left) as well as the I-69 project managers for both states, Ted Merryman from Kentucky and Sam Sarvis from Indiana. They had come at the invitation of the West Kentucky Chamber Regional Chamber Alliance (WKRCA), and many of us were in awe.

I and a few others couldn't help but think back to early 2008 when we'd made our first trip to Frankfort to talk about I-69. Transportation officials there were nice but also a long way from any commitments for the project. Due to a lack of funding, the thought of seeing the 156 miles of I-69 through the Commonwealth making much progress in the near future seemed remote at best. We didn't give up.

Working through the 12 chambers of commerce in Chamber Leadership Initiatives for Northwestern Kentucky (C-LINK) and later the 14 chambers that comprise WKRCA, we continued to beat the drum for I-69. Two years later, Kentucky has an I-69 project manager, 800 people attended an I-69 rally disguised as "West Kentucky Night" during the legislative session, there's $51 million of projects in the state road plan for I-69, and now we await the results of Kentucky's application for a special grants program through the U.S. DOT to upgrade 70 miles of Kentucky parkways to become a big part of I-69.

Last Friday, Secretary Hancock was asked what the chambers should do. "Continue your united front, advocate together," was his only answer. Twenty-six chambers of commerce representing 6,500+ business members are marching to the same beat and getting the attention of those who make the decisions. Good things happen when people work together.

It's all about people

Yesterday, Larry Vick, superintendent of Owensboro Public Schools, gave me a tour of the new $23 million expansion and renovation project at Owensboro High School. It's well done with a 2,500-seat gymnasium and 14,000-square-foot fine arts wing that is probably second to few in Kentucky.

You could see the pride in Larry's face as he explained the details and thought process that was behind every decision. As we walked, he introduced me to several teachers who shared Larry's enthusiasm; it was obvious that they, too, were filled with pride and anticipation about their new surroundings and what it means for students as they return to school today. When I mentioned the teachers' bright eyes, he smiled and said, "It's all about people." Thirty-six years as a school superintendent has taught him that fact.

I thought about the irony of a $23 million facilities upgrade and how that is actually a people investment. It's true. People make the difference in any organization or business. "Get the right people on the bus," "Hire the best you can." Those are all staples of any best-selling leadership book I've ever read. At Owensboro High School, teachers' enthusiasm about their new surroundings will certainly lead to more motivation for learning

Philosophies come and go. I've learned in my career that there's actually few new ideas. What makes systems go or fail are the people behind them. This might seem quaint, but I was reminded yesterday for one hour of how true it still is.