Kentucky editorial roundup

Summary of recent Kentucky newspaper editorials:

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Dec. 22

The Lexington Herald-Leader on Kentucky's prison population:

Kentucky is much poorer, but no safer, because we continue to lock up so many of our citizens.

The state is poorer not just in money - over half a billion dollars spent imprisoning over 23,500 people last year - but in human capital.

Consider these chilling facts: Kentucky has the nation's fifth-highest female imprisonment rate, nearly twice the national average; we lead the nation in the percentage of children with an imprisoned parent.

At the current pace, Kentucky's prison population will grow another 19 percent in the next decade at the cost of an additional $600 million.

Early in the upcoming legislative session, bills will be introduced that aim to change this awful trajectory. Voters must push legislators to set aside their "tough on crime" rhetoric to embrace the commonsense recommendations that resulted.

The bills will be based on the work of a criminal-justice work group appointed by Gov. Matt Bevin to find "fiscally-sound, data-driven" policies that protect public safety, reduce prison populations and help non-violent offenders become taxpayers not repeat offenders.

The 30-plus page report contains detailed, data-based findings and recommendations across the criminal justice system, but some broad strokes are instructive:

? People who have committed non-violent crimes related to substance abuse need treatment, not prison.

? Class D felony offenders who committed non-violent, non-sex crimes, like simply possessing drugs or property theft, accounted for all the recent prison growth; incarceration for more serious crimes has fallen.

? Time in prison increases the likelihood that someone will re-offend. Currently, Kentucky's recidivism rate stands at a very high 41 percent in the two years after release.

No surprise, the work group's recommendations focus on creating more rational, effective and less costly approaches. Some of the most important:

? Reclassify first and second drug-possession offenses to misdemeanors for people who have not been convicted of other serious crimes. This must be combined with substance-abuse treatment and follow-up supervision for misdemeanor drug convictions.

? Raise the threshold for felony property theft from $500 to $2,000. Although theft crime has fallen in Kentucky, imprisonment for felony theft has grown: 52 percent of convictions were for amounts less than $1,000, and 73 percent less than $2,000. States have raised this rate in recent years with no increase in overall property crime.

? Expand pretrial release of low-to-moderate risk defendants charged with low-level, non-violent or non-sex offenses. In 2016, almost 25,000 people charged with low-level offenses were imprisoned for a week or more pretrial, although 90 percent of those released were not arrested for a new offense before trial.

Although not in the work group's recommendations, we will add another item:

? Repeal the portion of last session's House Bill 333 - important legislation that imposed a three-day limit on opioid prescriptions - that removed the distinction between traffickers and users. That change made selling or sharing any quantity of heroin a felony punishable by five to 10 years in prison. This provision accounts for about 40 percent of the projected increase in the prison population.

Traffickers need to be in prison, users need help.

Online: http://www.kentucky.com/

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Dec. 23

The Daily News of Bowling Green on former Kentucky Speaker of the House Jeff Hoover:

This newspaper has repeatedly said that former Kentucky Speaker of the House Jeff Hoover was right to resign his speakership and that he should also resign from the legislature.

We stand by those statements and hope he will resign his seat in the General Assembly because we don't think his actions meet the standards people can reasonably expect from their legislator. Sure, Hoover might have been a capable legislator and an effective speaker, but after it became public that he secretly settled sexual harassment claims - a situation he later owned up to - it was clear he had to resign his speakership.

We believed that was the end of his tenure as speaker. But now, some of his fellow Republicans in the House are saying they want Hoover back as speaker. While it is only a minority of his colleagues who have expressed these sentiments, Hoover technically could get his speakership job back under a plan brought together by some of his allies. Lawmakers say attorneys for the Republican House Caucus have told them Hoover's resignation is not official because it hasn't been accepted by the House, which legally doesn't exist unless they are in session. The session begins Jan. 2.

Theoretically, those hoping to keep Hoover as speaker are arguing that despite announcing his resignation publicly, he simply choose not to do so officially when the General Assembly convenes.

We believe those pushing to restore a disgraced man to the speakership are not looking at the big picture.

Hoover's actions were shady and a disservice to his family and his constituents. This is a man who went before the public and tearfully said that he did send consensual but inappropriate text messages to a woman who worked for the House Republican Caucus.

These are the actions of a man who did wrong and who finally owned up to it. So, why in the world would his allies want a person with this much baggage to be the leader of the House?

It is a bad idea. Those pushing for Hoover to continue to be speaker would be wise to consider the perception of the party if he were to remain speaker. It would send a message to the people of Kentucky that House Republicans condone this type of behavior. Also, by keeping Hoover as speaker, a black cloud will hover over the legislature during a session when so much needs to be accomplished, such as passing a budget and addressing pension reform. Finally, with all House seats up for election in 2018, keeping a man as speaker who admitted he acted inappropriately with a woman has the potential to draw a lot of votes away from Republican candidates.

Online: http://www.bgdailynews.com/

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Dec. 27

The News-Enterprise on prioritizing financial literacy:

Kentucky recently received a grade of C in financial literacy by The Champlain College Center for Financial Literacy. For a state with an average credit card debt of $6,075 in 2017 and an average household income of $45,000 - $10,000 less than the U.S. average - average is not a good result.

Also, factor in that Kentucky has the eighth highest rate of bankruptcy in the country, according to credit.com. As of June 2017, 3.78 people per every 1,000 Kentuckians declare bankruptcy.

With the financial health of individuals at risk, Kentucky is at risk. Greater knowledge and understanding of debt, finance, lending and risk are needed.

Alex Todd, an Elizabethtown High School teacher, has been working to educate students on financial literacy for more than 10 years, and understandably finds the ranking by The Champlain College frustrating.

Students shouldn't leave high school without a basic understanding of how to balance a checkbook, how student loans and credit card debt works and how to maintain a good credit rating - yet even in the most effective schools about 60 percent of them do.

While some parents take the time to teach their children these skills, many assume they will figure it out in the "school of life." Unfortunately, that's where ugly lessons often are taught. As adults, many figure it out the hard way - when they are neck-deep in debt and working an entry-level job.

More and more, the real world is saddling young adults with massive credit card debt, huge student loans and poor credit ratings. It makes buying a home and realizing the American dream insurmountable. It adds unneeded tension to family relationships and results in daily worries and pressures.

Bright potential often is snuffed out by bankruptcy or evictions leading even to homelessness.

The Room in the Inn, a seasonal shelter for homeless people in our community, teaches financial literacy to adults to help them get off the street. While many other circumstances contribute to homelessness, failing to save money or properly manage basic finances can get anyone into extreme trouble.

Surely, we can do better for our children? Can't we as a society give them the most basic tools needed to succeed as adults?

Teaching them how to manage their bills and debt, encouraging them to save money to buy items without credit and to invest in their own retirement will not only help them, it should make every parent proud to know they have given their child a set of skills they will use their entire life.

For the second year, state Sen. Dennis Parrett has introduced a bill that would require the Kentucky Department of Education to develop academic standards for a financial literacy program to be implemented by each public high school and to require it to be completed for graduation.

It is past time for this bill to gain traction and pass.

If it doesn't pass, parents still need to require their children to take a financial literacy course before they are on their own. Local school systems can step up if the state legislature does not.

It's the very least that can be done to ensure these children's future and a brighter outlook for Kentucky.

Online: http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/