Columns

By JIM PAXTON

The Paducah Sun

The 2016 presidential race is shaping up as one of the most interesting, and to some extent bizarre, such exercises we can remember. It takes place against a backdrop of a public that is in an increasingly foul mood. A poll released Monday by Rasmussen Reports finds that only 26 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction. That’s down a point from a week earlier and down four points from the start of this year.

Last week, the United States celebrated the 95th anniversary of women’s right to vote, a milestone made possible by the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Kentucky was the 23rd state to ratify that amendment, but it did not clear its final legislative hurdle until Tennessee became the 36th in August 1920.  Interestingly, that decision was a close one, occurring only when a young legislator voted in favor at the request of his mother.

The new school schedules are in full swing! Busses are loaded up, lunchboxes are packed and students have returned to schools in Carroll County. At Champions for a Drug Free Carroll County, we are geared up and excited for another fun-filled year with education and prevention at our forefront, as always. While we are an organization that heavily focuses on community needs and issues, we also are very student-driven and oriented and place most of our time planning school functions and fun.

When it comes to policy, unemployment insurance may not generate as many headlines as education and public safety, but for working families dealing with the loss of a job, few programs are more important.

President Roosevelt signed this safety net into law 80 years ago last week as part of the Social Security Act.  Since then, it has weathered numerous ups-and-downs in the economy, but beyond the Great Depression itself, none tested the system quite like the crisis that hit the country in 2008.