Kentucky Pays $3 Million a Year for State Employee

These are tough times for many Kentuckians across the state. The unemployment rate is hovering around 8.4 percent statewide, and in some counties, unemployment exceeds 13 percent. But, according to the government, the recession didn't hit Kentucky as hard as some other states. We were more fortunate than some, and less fortunate than others.

Either way, the downturn in the economy, combined with much slower than projected economic growth, has impacted state revenues.  Therefore, many state governments, including Kentucky, are now calling on their citizens to do their fair share, which normally means, pay more taxes.

To determine Kentucky tax payers' fair share, and who will pay it, Governor Beshear appointed a group, headed by Lieutenant Governor Abramson. The group, called the Kentucky Blue Ribbon Tax Reform Commission, started work in the spring of 2012, and proposed a number of ways to increase revenues for the state treasury, but has not offered a single proposal to reduce government spending. And excessive government spending is, by any mathematical calculation, the root of Kentucky's fiscal problems. 

For example, a search of the Louisville Courier-Journal's Government Salaries Database reveals 32 state employees who make between five-hundred thousand and three million dollars each year, for a combined total of $24,083,703 dollars. The two highest paid state employees are the University of Louisville's basketball coach, Rick Pitino, who receives 3 million dollars a year, and the Cardinals' football coach, Charlie Strong, who earns 2.3 million dollars a year.

(Top 15 recipients of Kentucky Tax dollars)

The combined 5.3 million dollars for Pitino and Strong are 100 percent funded by state tax payer dollars. In contrast, University of Kentucky Coach, John Calipari, receives 400 thousand dollars annually from Kentucky tax payers. The remainder of his multimillion dollar contract is funded by sponsors like Nike, and through other private resources. A similar structuring of the Pitino and Strong contracts would save Kentucky tax payers 4.5 million dollars each year. 

This is just one small example of how the state government could save millions of tax payer dollars. Hopefully, as the Governor, the Blue Ribbon Commission, and the state legislature move forward on taxes, they will ensure taxes are not just equitable, but more importantly, essential to the welfare of the Commonwealth.