Floyd County Council cops the same tired poverty plea: We're too damned poor to afford voting rights.

We might add: Too damned stupid.

JeffG seals it.

Because, gosh darn it, this democracy stuff is just too complicated and expensive. We had plenty of machines located at many more much more accessible polling places that worked just fine. A bipartisan effort put an end to all that. Hooray for the two-party system.

Let's look at that word again: Bipartisan.

Lest we forget that when it comes to pleas of poverty, and there's not a fourth Camm trial to blame, former Floyd County Council members Ted Heavrin and the late Larry McAllister, both DINO Dixiecrats, created institutionalized governmental starvation at the county level.

Republicans? They've merely perfected it.

Floyd County Council members respond to long lines during Election Day, by Scott Adkins (WAVE-3)

... "Obviously to the voters, that's not an acceptable process," said Floyd County Clerk Christy Eurton. "I went to the council earlier in the year and asked for 20 additional election machines. They only gave me 10."
However, county council members Lana Aebersold and Dana Fendley said additional machines isn't the solution.

"The council cannot afford any more machines," Aebersold said.

Indiana legislative hijinks: HJR-3 goes to the Senate, and Mike Pence explores evasiveness.

By a vote of 8-4, the Senate Rules Committee advanced the House's amended version of HJR-3 to the full Senate.

You can read all about it in the IndyStar.

Among noteworthy aspects of this development are a continuing GOP disconnect about what it means to support a good business climate, the ongoing willingness of African-American preachers to shoot themselves in the foot, and the everlasting reticence of Silent Ron Grooms to engage his constituents in dialogue about these issues.

Meanwhile, speaking of disconnection, self-harm and intellectual cluelessness, here comes HJR-3 advocate Mike Pence to loot local government finance sans substantive explanation ... all in the name of a good business climate. Today's word, second only to barnacle: Putz.

What does 'unduly harm' mean to Gov. Pence?, by Tony Cook (IndyStar)

... Consider this exchange on Thursday when a group of reporters all sought Gov. Mike Pence's take on the estimated $1 billion hit that local governments, schools and libraries could face if his plan to phase out Indiana's tax on businesses equipment comes to pass.

Pence has a penchant for saying that he doesn't want the phaseout to "unduly harm" local government. Here's how reporters tried – and tried – to pin him down on what precisely "unduly harm" means.

That's the essence of it.

It's and Evening News "jeer" about Clark County, but merely change a few numbers and it's applicable to Floyd County, too. Our county council spent a few hot minutes contemplating LOIT before abdicating its responsibility to lead and fleeing to the hills. It will be interesting to see if Clark County's does the same.

JEERS

... to Clark County’s budget woes. According to the most recent County Council budget meeting, there is as much as a $5.8 million gap in the requested budget — $18.7 million — and expected 2010 revenues — $12.9 million.

The county is finally discussing implementing a Local Option Income Tax, or LOIT, which would help, although not much for 2010. The question is, what took so long?

The answer is simple. When the state hamstrung local taxing entities with property tax reform and caps, it offered LOIT to the counties as a way to offset lost revenues.

With that, state lawmakers could say during election season, “we handled your property tax problem and didn’t raise taxes.”

The result is the county council now must raise taxes and take the fall for the state, because cutting one third of staff or services isn’t feasible.

— Editor Shea Van Hoy