Discussion: KY Supreme Court Strikes Down Pension Law That Spurred Teacher Protests

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Bevin meltdown in 3, 2, …

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But Republican Gov. Matt Bevin called it “an unprecedented power grab by activist judges."

Translation: “How dare they do the right thing!”

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[The state Supreme Court] ruled that lawmakers cannot take a bill close to final passage and replace it with an unrelated bill without voting on it three times over three separate days as the Constitution requires.

Or in the words of many esteemed Republican politicos, it’s a mere process crime.

Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Matt Bevin declared that passing legislation in the manner required by the Constitution is in fact “an unprecedented power grab by activist judges."

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Thank you, KY Supreme Court, for doing the right thing by my former colleagues. Even though it seems like the people of KY always vote against their best interests, it’s good to know that someone is trying to make sure people are treated fairly. Now all they need to do is get rid of Bevin…

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Public pension systems across the country are in trouble as workers live longer and states grapple to make up investment losses from the Great Recession. as Republican’t and Neoliberal Democratic governors deliberately underfunded them in order to give tax cuts to millionaires, billionaires and transnational, tax-avoiding corporations.

FIFY

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I’ve got to remind you that it really wasn’t always this way. Democrats controlled at least one house of the state legislature until 2016 and we’ve had only three R governors since 1947, two of which were one and done and it remains to be seen what will happen with Bevin. Unfortunately, the rise of Obama activated the deep seated racism within this state. We became a state that was reliably blue at the state level and red at the federal level became deep red. Our only saving grace is that Bevin is deeply unpopular, but then he’s also been a staunch PP supporter. I fear that PP will plant his ass in our state and drive out the asshole vote to reelect Bevin. We shall see.

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I have often counseled others who write policy to carefully consider the use of the word ‘Shall’ in a document that binds the employee or the organization. This case will be one of my newer examples.

There is no ‘wiggle room’ in the word Shall. When you make it part of the official document you will do it, or face explaining why you violated your own policies and procedures.

Today’s Kentucky Supreme court ruling is an excellent reminder of what can happen when you apply it incorrectly or ignore it completely.

And I also think Kentucky needs a complete and independent Audit of the current retirement systems, both the public and the legislative. Particularly since the different approaches have left one in good financial health and the other in a decayed state, as they have been managed quite differently.

Further, as these system represent a defined fiduciary responsibility, I think the actions and management of each should be reported on as well to the public, within the framework of the Audit.

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It sure seems as if Bevin is hellbent on becoming the next Paul LePage. Any comments yet about “urban youths” from Cincinnati coming down…

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They go over that little canard in detail in the opinion. Summing it up in Kentucky parlance-

‘Bevin’s full of Horse-shit.’

http://opinions.kycourts.net/SC/2018-SC-000421-TGE.pdf?fbclid=IwAR14O_LTjvvKE_yQaIte0DYG_sCca2e1-FWiofV1xOODsh5R9-tJAhOrdfE

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Enjoy…

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Agreed. We also need solutions. Part of the reason KY is in the predicament we’re in is because of the Bible beating freaks out in the counties who are resistant to any kind of change they perceive as “sinful.” There has been one effort after another to bring casino gaming to KY. It’s been going on for decades. The dominionists out in the counties have fought it tooth and nail. Fast forward to today and now every surrounding state has casino gaming and there’s no spot in KY more than an hour to an hour and a half away from a casino in ANOTHER state. Now they’re back again trying to do the same thing with the devil’s lettuce while all the states around us are slowly pushing toward legalization. And don’t even get me started on the MFers in the coal lobby and how they’ve hamstrung the hell out of any efforts to move this state forward.

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I concur.

The Gambling thing has always be a bit confusing for me since I live near two Tracks where off site betting occurs daily in Kentucky. And I have heard it said that Jerry Lundergan (currently under indictment) has been buying up land near or along the Ohio, and around Turfway, in anticipation of a change in the law. And if they had a lick of sense in Eastern Kentucky they’d trade their coal mines for blackjack tables.

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If I was Bevin, I wouldn’t be trying to draw attention to Kentucky’s pension program.

Since 2008 the state has invested pension funds in hedge funds, and there’s been quite a few accusations since then of mismanagement if not outright fraud. This investment policy has contributed to the dire state of pension financing in Kentucky.

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Something to watch - Governor Bevin recently blasted Pro Publica for supporting investigative reporting at the Courier Journal in Kentucky.

The specific program to be investigated has not yet been announced.

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What a baby

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“This unfortunate decision now subjects decades of good legislation to potential legal challenges, while revealing a complete and total lack of understanding for the separation of powers,” the statement read.

Hmm, seems to me that the person who drafted this statement has no idea as to what the “separation of powers” actually means, and the under our Constitution, the judicial branch has the power to rule on actions by the legislative and executive. More Republican bullshit.

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I do know that part of the problem was that God awful David Williams who was head of the state senate. He refused to bring casino gaming up for a vote and was literally the only person in KY keeping it either off the ballot or from getting a vote in the legislature. It later was discovered that he was receiving all sorts of kickbacks from the horse racing industry.

Well, you know they don’t have lick of sense down there.

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That’s my friend’s sign. She drug that thing all over KY this year!

I have dozens of pix of it in various places.

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Now, now…I have good friends down there from my tourism days. Eastern KY used to be a strong Dem area and they’re going to be a lot easier to turn around than Western KY. Indivisible KY helped a lot of those folks down there get up and running when they reached out for help. Good sign.

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We’ve already got at least one great candidate just for that purpose. We’re on it!

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