Local Sales Tax Amendment Could Lead to Wider Inequality Without Better Funding Local Services
Under Kentucky’s constitution, there are limits on the types of taxes the General Assembly may authorize local governments to levy,...
State Report Describes Growing Educator Shortage, and Lack of Funding Plays a Key Role
The growing shortage of teachers and other school personnel is becoming more severe, according to a new report by the Kentucky legislature’s Office of Education Accountability (OEA). Inadequate funding and...
Kentucky Is Excessively Stockpiling Needed Resources and Prioritizing Costly Tax Cuts
In recent years, the Kentucky General Assembly has prioritized an effort to reduce its single largest revenue source, the individual income tax. After decades with a graduated income tax and...
The UAW Strikes Are Working. And Now Kentuckians Are Joining In.
The United Auto Workers’ (UAW) Stand Up strikes came to Louisville last week when the 8,700 workers at the massive Ford Kentucky Truck Plant held a surprise walk out. They...
UAW Showdown Is a Pivotal Moment for Southern Auto Workers
In the classic Kentucky novel The Dollmaker, a tenant farm family leaves a hard life in the hills for a no less difficult existence in the roaring factories of Detroit....
The Funding Gap Between Kentucky’s Wealthy and Poor School Districts Is Now Worse Than Levels Declared Unconstitutional
The difference in per-pupil funding between the state’s poorest and wealthiest districts now exceeds the level deemed unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court more than three decades ago. In 1990,...
The Legislature’s Transportation Budget Cuts Contributed to the JCPS Bus Debacle
The first day of school in Jefferson County should have been joyous for kids and families, but severe busing issues turned the day into a debacle. Leaders should be held...
New Federal Laws Can Create Opportunities in Kentucky, If We Act on Job Quality and Community Access
In recent years, Congress has passed several sweeping federal policies that aim to create jobs, modernize the economy and boost key industries. Early returns are promising in Kentucky, which is...
Workers at Kentucky’s Largest Employer Could Soon Be On Strike. Here’s What It Means
Intense contract negotiations between an emboldened Teamsters union and package delivery giant United Parcel Service (UPS) are nearing a July 31 strike deadline. The outcome of this showdown has massive...
Drop in Income Tax Receipts Is a Glimpse of Future Trouble
Five months into Kentucky’s experiment in reducing the individual income tax rate, the verdict is unsurprising. Cutting the rate is causing income tax receipts to fall despite low unemployment and...