Paul, Bevin attend public forums and fundraisers during area campaign swing

U.S. Senator and Republican Presidential candidate Rand Paul, above left, speaks to Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison at a community forum in Corbin last Friday. Paul was campaigning in the area along with GOP gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin.

U.S. Senator Rand Paul attended fundraisers and public forums on a swing through London and Corbin last Friday to bolster his duel bid to win a second term as Senator while also vying for the Republican nomination for U.S. President.

Fresh off a trip to Haiti with the University of Utah’s John A. Moran Eye Center, Paul seemed relaxed, but clearly weary during his public engagements.

“I’ve been losing some weight, but not the good way,” Paul told supporters during a fundraiser at the home of Terry and Marion Forcht.

Paul, an ophthalmologist, traveled with other doctors to the impoverished island nation to perform over 200 cataract surgeries.
He used the trip as an example of the generosity of Americans (they gave $386 billion to charities last year), but said there is starting to surface a lack of understanding regarding the country’s economic system that underpins that level of giving.

“We are sort of easing into this area where we aren’t really growing like we once did,” Paul said. “Some of it is that we aren’t really a friendly place to do business anymore.”

“Money and business will go where it’s well received.”

The theme was popular with local business leaders at the fundraiser. Paul noted that many American companies are switching their corporate headquarters to European countries and Canada because the tax burden locally is too high.

“The corporate tax rate in Canada is 15 percent. Ours is 35 percent.”

He also highlighted the need to simplify the income tax code and reduce the number of regulations on business.

Paul said he was against cutting taxes with the stipulation that any cuts be “revenue neutral.” Many Democrats and members of his own party have been in favor of targeted tax reductions that don’t reduce the amount of revenue the government receives.

“If that’s what we are for, I’d might as well go home,” Paul said. “Tax cuts should stimulate the economy.”

“One of the reasons I decided to run for president is I think the message needs to be bigger and beyond Kentucky.”
Terry Forcht, founder of Forcht Group of Kentucky, introduced Paul calling him an “outspoken champion for constitutional liberties and fiscal responsibility.”

“He’s a fearless advocate against government overreach and Rand has fought tirelessly to return government to its limited scope. He’s not a career politician. Rand Paul came to Washington to shake things up and make a difference, and he’s done just that.”

Paul kept his remarks at the fundraiser mainly focused on taxes and regulations. He ceded some of his time to Republican Gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin who was also in attendance.

Bevin spoke briefly to the group about his campaign and said things were “going well.” He is running against Democratic nominee and current Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway.

“All the polling that has been done shows that we are either ahead or within the margin of error of essentially being ahead,” Bevin told the group. “The trend has been moving in our direction.”

“Bottom line, it’s a game of momentum. We’ve got two months and some change and it’s going to be a function of whether we can keep our foot on the gas or not.”

Prior to the fundraiser, Paul appeared at an open community forum at the London-Corbin Airport. At a similar forum at Corbin city hall, later in the day, he was joined by Bevin, Whitley Circuit Judge Dan Ballou, Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison, 82nd District State Representative Regina Bunch, and Corbin Mayor Willard McBurney.

At the forum, Paul had his sights set on different issues. A good portion of the discussion involved what the panel saw as the growth of an “entitlement attitude” in society.

Ballou said personal pride and self-respect was being eroded by too many government benefits.

“When the government’s policies puts these people in a position to where they are being paid and fed and watered like cattle … like animals … then you got to expect them to start acting like animals,” Ballou said.

Harrison said he’s been working on a program that would require people who benefit from things like free Kentucky Splash Waterpark passes and the Shop-With-A-Cop program to do some community service or work before receiving anything. He’s calling it a “community reinvestment” program.

“It’s getting to the point now where people just expect everything for free,” he said. “We have to show people that you don’t just get things for free.”

Bunch said there is rampant abuse of the state and federal welfare system.

“We have abuse of the system and no one is even being held accountable,” she said. “We need to stop creating this society that feels like they are entitled to everything.”

Paul said at his own Bowling Green practice, he often does charitable eye procedures, but always requires a co-pay of some kind, even if it is a mere $10.

Paul switched gears and talked about problems with the executive branch of government essentially passing new laws, without Congressional approval, when writing regulations.

One of the more dramatic moments of the forum had to do with tax reform. After being prompted by a question from the audience, Paul put Bevin on the spot by asking if the state could do away with the income tax and go strictly to a sales tax.

“I’ll tell you this, and I’ll be very honest, I’m a big believer in a consumption based tax … but I don’t think we should tax production,” Bevin said. “It is important to understand, it is impossible to just switch like that. It just is. We have financial realities.”

Bevin said Kentucky has the second worst credit rating of any state and is one of the six least-solvent states. He also noted that he feels like the state is going to be in a financial crunch when federal subsidies for the Affordable Care Act run out.

“We absolutely want to start trending in that direction though,” he said of going to consumption taxes.

There was also ample discussion about ways to stop illegal immigration from Mexico, Central and South America. Paul said no American President for the past 20 years has enforced immigration laws already on the books. He said he would favor some sort of amnesty for illegals already in the U.S., but not until the border is secure.