General Assembly Should Strengthen the Recovery by Approving Much-Needed Relief
The 2021 Kentucky General Assembly will reconvene in early February, and the remaining piece of essential business is agreement on...
Recovery Went in Reverse in December as Relief Expired, Pandemic Resurged
New monthly jobs data shows the state lost jobs in December for the first time since the recovery began in the spring of 2020. The end of federal CARES Act...
$2,000 Checks Would Provide More of the Relief Kentuckians Need
The December federal relief law provided checks of $600 per person, though many argued at the time for the larger amount of $2,000 per person. Now President-elect Biden and the...
Governor’s Budget Increases Funding for Relief and Reinvestment
Governor Beshear proposed a budget that uses $613 million in extra revenues created because of federal stimulus to provide targeted relief to families and businesses hurting from the pandemic, protect...
New Federal Relief Package Is a Short-Term Lifeline, But More Aid Is Needed
Congress has finally agreed to a new relief package that temporarily extends much-needed support to a weak economy and struggling families. It includes expanded and continued emergency unemployment benefits, rental...
Any Action on Proliferating Slot Machines Must Raise Artificially Low Tax Rate
A recent state Supreme Court ruling has threatened the operation of thousands of slot machines across Kentucky because they do not meet the definition of "pari-mutuel wagering” associated with the...
Kentucky Must Remove the Roadblocks to Unemployment Insurance — Our Most Important Economic Stabilizer
The torrent of job losses Kentuckians have experienced because of COVID-19 has thrown an unprecedented number of households into turmoil. As paychecks have disappeared, unemployment insurance has been a critical...
Kentucky’s Inadequate and Outdated Unemployment Insurance Taxes Need to Be Modernized
As unemployment claims surged in Kentucky due to COVID-19 related layoffs, the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) trust fund was quickly exhausted. Kentucky is one of 21 states and territories that...
Kentucky’s Too-Slow Economic Recovery Faces New Threats
New employment data for October shows Kentucky's recovery continues at too slow a pace to get the economy back on its feet any time soon. The expiration of federal aid...
COVID-19 Crisis Demonstrates Need for State Improvements to Unemployment Insurance in Kentucky
Unemployment insurance (UI) is one of the most effective programs available to help laid-off workers meet their basic needs and allow economies to bounce back during downturns. As a partial...