Lessening Burden of Student Loans One Step of Many Toward Greater College Affordability
There is a lot of focus this week on what can be done to address the student loan debt crisis—with...
Analysis
There’s Precedent for the Transition Assistance Eastern Kentucky Needs
The new power plant rules proposed this week will make coal less competitive in the coming decades. It's just one factor pointing toward continued decline in eastern Kentucky coal production,...
The Real Threat to Kentucky Manufacturing Jobs
Expect to hear loud concerns next week that new rules to reduce the carbon emissions that cause climate change will harm Kentucky's economy, including the state’s electricity-intensive manufacturing jobs. Kentucky...
Growing Tuition Tax Credit Denies Students in Poverty Even As Need-Based College Aid is Underfunded
Kentucky’s recently released biennial tax expenditure report, which documents state spending through provisions in the tax code, shows a growing amount of money going to a program called the Postsecondary...
State EITC Would Make a Regressive Tax System Fairer
Previous posts have described how a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would help working low-income Kentuckians make ends meet and reach every corner of the state. A state EITC would also make...
Cutting State Income Taxes No Way to Attract New Residents
Anti-tax advocates often claim that cutting individual income taxes, especially for those at the top of the income scale, is vital if states want to keep wealthy people at home...
What Are Taxes For?
Tax Day is an important time for Kentuckians to consider the role of government in our state and nation. Taxes are a critical tool for doing things together that we...
Tax Break Bill a Setback for Revenue System
The General Assembly inserted some last minute tax breaks benefiting powerful interests into House Bill 445—the revenue bill that accompanied the new budget—before passing the bill and adjourning for the...
New Budget Will Worsen Kentucky’s College Affordability Problem
The budget passed by the General Assembly on Monday does not contain good news for higher education students in Kentucky. The 1.5 percent cuts to the state’s public universities and...
Pre-School Expansion a Notable Part of Budget Agreement
Press reports indicate that the new budget agreement contains an additional $18 million for pre-school in 2016, a 25 percent increase in state funding that would open up public pre-school...