Statement on Governor Beshear’s State of the Commonwealth Address
KCEP Director Jason Bailey released the following statement on Governor Beshear's State of the Commonwealth address: "Governor Beshear rightly focused...
Vast Inequality in Wealth Means Poor School Districts Are Less Able to Rely on Local Property Taxes
The cuts in state and federal funding for education are hitting Kentucky's school districts hard, and many are raising local taxes in response. However, the same local property tax increase...
Presentation: Kentucky’s Budget Outlook
Kentucky lawmakers will begin assembling what Speaker Greg Stumbo recently called a "destructive" two-year state budget when it reconvenes in January. Current projections suggest the weakest revenue growth since the...
State Must Begin Meeting Responsibility to Teachers’ Retirement or Pay More Later
The state has not been making full required contributions to Kentucky teachers' retirement since 2009, and the impact of not making those payments has a compounding effect—meaning more costs for...
Preliminary Forecast Predicts Weakest Revenue Growth Since Recovery Began
Kentucky currently expects to craft its next two-year budget with the least amount of new General Fund revenue it has had since the recovery began. This bad news comes despite...
875,000 Kentuckians to See a Cut in Food Assistance Beginning Today
Beginning today, 875,000 Kentuckians will see their food assistance benefits cut when a temporary boost to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) expires. All of...
Budget Cuts Further Widen Education Funding Gaps
Cuts to state and federal funding for education are leading to greater reliance on local revenue sources and exacerbating funding inequity between school districts, as described in a Louisville Courier-Journal...
Kentucky Among States with Biggest Coverage Assistance from Health Reform
Kentucky is one of three states in the nation where more than four out of five of the uninsured will be eligible for health coverage assistance under the Affordable Care...
Kentucky Fast Food Workers Struggle with Low Wages While Industry Does Well
Kentucky's 32,000 frontline fast-food workers make such low wages that 46 percent of them qualify for low-income public assistance programs at a cost of $115 million in 2011, according to...
Testimony: Local Option Sales Tax
Interim Joint Committee on Local Government Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. My name is Jason Bailey and I am director of the Kentucky Center for...