Why Regions Fail
Others have rightly jumped on Nicholas Kristof’s December column in the New York Times criticizing the Supplemental Security Income (SSI)...
Economic Security
Four Key Facts about Public Pensions in Kentucky
As Kentucky legislators consider changes that could cut pension benefits for nurses, social workers, police officers and other public sector workers, they should keep in mind four important facts. Public...
Kentucky Among 10 States with Fastest-Growing Income Inequality
Income gaps widened more in Kentucky than in all but eight other states between the late 1990s and the mid-2000s – and more than all but three other states from...
Pension Recommendations Emphasize Employee Sacrifice While Addressing Only Portion of Liability
The state’s task force on public pensions heard consultants’ recommendations this week that include several ways to raise employee costs and cut benefits, some of which may not be legal....
Myths and Facts about an Earned Income Tax Credit in Kentucky
The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is widely known as a highly effective antipoverty program that helps low-income families make ends meet and provides long-term benefits for children. In...
Increase in Federal Minimum Wage Would Provide Much-Needed Boost to Kentucky Families
An increase in the federal minimum wage to $9.80 an hour would raise wages in Kentucky by $606 million over the next three years and benefit one out of every...
Public Versus Private Employee Costs in Kentucky: Comparing Apples to Apples
While a state task force considers further cuts to public employee pension benefits, a new report shows that Kentucky public workers are already undercompensated compared to their private sector counterparts....
Health Care Law Will Benefit Kentuckians In Many Ways
The Supreme Court's decision that the health care reform law is constitutional has not brought an end to ideological attacks on the law and calls for its full repeal. Now,...
Report Estimates Medicaid Expansion Could Actually Save Kentucky Money
We previously reported (here and here) that the state will likely incur little cost associated with the expansion of Medicaid beginning in 2014 to around 300,000 Kentuckians. But in fact...
Medicaid Expansion is a Very Good Deal for Kentucky
The 2014 expansion of Medicaid in the Affordable Care Act will benefit Kentuckians substantially, while the federal government will largely pick up the bill. According to one analysis, Kentucky will...