Kentucky is a beautiful state and a nice place to live; however, this state badly needs future-focused economic growth. We need 21st century jobs. We lose a lot of our younger citizens to states with better economic opportunities and that's a crying shame. The healthiest states have economic engines that are driven by a fine partnership between government, education, and business. In my opinion, this is part of what is holding the city of Louisville back from being the world class city it could be -- it has a tax-unfriendly environment and a suboptimal potential workforce from which to hire.
Folks, this is why I'm looking very closely at Mr. Harper in the Republican primary. The potential he holds for creating concensus across the state on what it will take to move Kentucky up the economic ladder is great. Democrats are already putting these things on their agenda; how much more "unity" could we achieve if we had a Conservative governor ready to work with them? It appears, from the issues he's chosen to speak out about, that Harper understands how these things must come together to provide fertile ground for the economic growth Kentucky needs in order to better fund the services we'd all like to have both now and in the future.
Okay, enough yammering from me... Let's hear from Mr. Harper on the AMT:
HARPER RELEASES NEW STATEWIDE CAMPAIGN AD ON AMTAnd, now let's hear from Mr. Harper on the quality of education in Kentucky:
- Now is the time to repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax and grow Kentucky’s economy -
PADUCAH, KENTUCKY—“I’ll repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax and I’ll cut the pork barrel spending,” says Billy Harper, local businessman and Republican candidate for Governor, in his new statewide media campaign.
The Harper Campaign released its sixth statewide television advertisement today. The ad, featuring a magician playing a shell game, calls for Frankfort politicians to repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax and cut pork barrel spending.
The Alternative Minimum Tax was first proposed by a Democratic governor and was signed into law by the current governor. The tax is unfairly imposed on both profitable and unprofitable businesses equally.
Frankfort politicians are trying to tell the people of Kentucky that they cut their taxes, yet business taxes brought in $100 million in the first quarter and create an economic climate that stunts job growth.
“Politicians in Frankfort are trying to fool you. For example, they try to call this an Alternative Minimum Calculation, but when an individual has to send more of their hard earned money to the government, that’s no calculation, that’s a tax!” said Billy Harper.
Examples of wasteful government pork barrel spending both being proposed and approved by the Governor and the Legislature are multimillion dollar state owned golf courses and luxury hotels all of which could be privatized.
Please direct questions to the Harper Campaign Headquarters 270-448-0663. Please click the link to view the new ad “Shell Game.”
http://www.harperforgovernor.com/multimedia.html
HARPER TAKES ISSUE WITH LAGGING STUDENT TEST SCORES
- Harper says “Kentucky schools must and can do better” -
PADUCAH, KENTUCKY—Local businessman and Republican candidate for Governor Billy Harper responded today to the Cradle to Career: Quality Counts 2007 Report, which gave insight on how Kentucky ranks against the rest of the nation in education. The report showed Kentucky’s fourth graders are dramatically behind the rest of the nation in math proficiency.
“It is unacceptable for Kentucky students to be so far behind the rest of the nation when it comes to a subject as important as math. We must act now to implement creative reforms to our public schools. The first step is implementing the remaining parts of the Harper Report,” said Billy Harper, Republican Candidate for Governor.
According to Natalie Jordan’s article in the Bowling Green Daily News, the report showed that an average of 26.1 percent of fourth graders are proficient in math as compared to the national average’s 35.3 percent. The national average of eighth-grade math is 28.5 percent which is higher than the state average of 22.5 percent.
“Some have expressed surprise that the state is below the national average. Our school leaders should no longer be surprised by the results of our children but be in touch enough to know what is expected. That’s why one of the recommendations of the Harper Report is to hold teachers, principals, school councils, students and superintendants personally accountable for student achievement,” said Harper.
The Quality Counts Report also showed that the percentage of students proficient in reading was slightly above the national average. According to Ms. Jordan’s article, the report showed an average of 30.8 percent of fourth graders are proficient—the national average is 29.8 percent—and 30.6 percent of eighth-graders—the national average is 28.9 percent.
“I applaud that our Kentucky student proficiency in reading is improving, but as a state, Kentuckians must ask themselves, do we consider ourselves an average state, or one that will provide a world-class education system to our students, ensuring the future of Kentucky’s economy thrives?” asked Harper.
Billy Harper brought together business leaders, school administrators and teachers to come up with 52 recommendations to create the Harper Report to make Kentucky schools better. Among these are funding for full day kindergarten, requiring school councils to collaborate with superintendants on hiring principals and allowing for regular business review of educational standards. Billy Harper is also a strong advocate of giving parents authority over their children’s educational future.
The first five statewide campaign advertisements for Harper’s campaign all focus on educational reforms needed for Kentucky.
Please direct questions to the Harper Campaign Headquarters 270-448-0663
If you're truly interested in learning more about Billy Harper, spend a little time at the Media Center on his website. You can see the most recent advertisements and hear a brief interview with Harper conducted by Lisa Autry at WKYU radio.
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