Kentucky Lantern Commentary: Don’t mistake ending Kentucky’s income tax for a valid economic strategy
By JOHN YARMUTH
My brother has been very successful in the barbeque restaurant business. (Full disclosure: I am a passive investor in his company.) Politically, he was always what I call a Rockefeller Republican, pro-business and progressive on social issues. He tended to vote Republican primarily because he wanted to pay less tax and viewed the GOP as the low-tax party.
So it was surprising when, in the summer of 2008, he called me and said, “John, you’ll be happy to know that Judy (his wife) and I are maxing out (contributing the maximum legal amount) to Obama’s campaign, and we’re voting for all Democrats this year.”
“That’s great, Bob,” I replied. “What was your epiphany?”