In Kentucky, conventional wisdom has long held that if lawmakers are going to raise taxes (and inevitably make some voters mad), the increase should be big enough to both accomplish something dramatic and avoid the need for another one any time soon (like three or four decades).
In 2018, the Republicans who control the legislature junked that conventional wisdom.
On a hot day last month, I stood in front of the state capitol building with hundreds of other Kentuckians, including many KFTC members. We were led that day by Reverend William Barber, the co-leader of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.
Members of the Perry County KFTC Chapter of gathered Tuesday in Hazard in front of U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers' office to protest the separation of families and stand in solidarity with immigrants being targeted by ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
The KFTC members met with Danielle Smoot of Rogers' staff to discuss the issue of separating families at the border. They asked for a meeting with Rogers when he is in Kentucky during a congressional recess.
There is a real fear that causes people from other countries to seek asylum in the U.S., Susan Hull of Perry County pointed out. "I lived in Nicaragua for three years. There are ‘the missing’ as they call them, the army comes in and then people are missing the next day. I know that it's true, but it's something that some of my friends here think is made up. There is a real fear."
The Northern Kentucky chapter of KFTC joined Northern Kentucky Justice and Peace Committee, Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, Northern Kentucky Indivisible and Together We Will - Cincinnati for a rally on the Roebling Bridge on June 14 to protest the Trump administration's policy of separating families.
The event, which was scheduled to be a part of events taking place nationwide, gained more attention closer to the action locally based on news reports of a plan to build 'tent cities' to house children (both unaccompanied minors and those separated from their families by the Department of Homeland Security) and the conditions inside of other holding facilities. Those in attendance chanted slogans offering support for families directly and indirectly impacted by the new heinous policy.
Thursday afternoon hundreds gathered at Northern Kentucky University to speak out for more revenue, and to ask legislators to honor the commitments we have made to students across Kentucky.
The crowd began to gather before noon. Members of the broader community included KFTC, the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers, and the Northern Kentucky Justice and Peace Committe. However, the majority in attendance were students and faculty who were most likely to be impacted by the new state budget. Many came with signs illustrating issues impacting the NKU community. From rising costs of tuition, a tax structure that hurts lower and middle income Kentuckians, and what the impact of further cuts could mean to universities across the state.
In April KFTC members launched the Power House Project, an exciting effort to build New Power in every sense of the word: new economic power, new clean energy power, and new political power.
On March 29, nearly a 150 people from across Kentucky and central Appalachia gathered in Harlan County for a community conversation with each other and with Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, as part of the national listening tour of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.
