The Benefits of Expanded Pre-School
In its final days of negotiating a new budget, a sticking point between the House and the Senate is whether...
Analysis
Legislation Requiring Government-Issued ID Could Deny Public Benefits to Eligible Recipients
Senate Bill 118, which passed the Senate yesterday, would require applicants for all public benefits to provide proof of lawful presence in the United States. While the bill’s proponents say...
Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform Launches Website
The Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform launched a website this week to provide information about the commission process and ways for everyday Kentuckians to get involved. The commission has...
A Decade of Erosion in Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance in Kentucky
According to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), 200,000 fewer non-elderly Kentuckians had health insurance through an employer in 2010 than in 2000. The report finds that...
Tax Expenditures Big Cause of Budget Problems, but Some Legislators Want More
There are three main reasons that the budget the legislature is now considering includes so many cuts. First, the economy is still struggling. Second, federal recovery-related financial assistance to the...
Faster Job Growth is Encouraging, but Kentucky Still Has Long Way to Go
Job growth in Kentucky picked up in the last three months of 2011, as the state added 15,800 jobs. At the depths of the recession, Kentucky had lost 117,700 jobs....
Budget Would Further Reduce College Affordability
The barriers to affordable higher education--especially for low-income Kentuckians--will continue to grow under a budget that cuts funding to postsecondary institutions and limits need-based financial aid. Budget Would Further Reduce...
Inadequate Tax System Has Big Role in Austere Budget
While the still-weak economy and the end of federal recovery-related assistance are important factors in the tight budget now being considered in Frankfort, long-term structural problems with Kentucky’s tax system...
State Releases More Pessimistic Revenue Forecast
The official body that approves state revenue estimates released a preliminary forecast today that projects nearly $500 million less in General Fund revenue for the upcoming two-year budget than the...
Op-Ed: Kentucky Must Invest, Reform Tax Code to Progress
Published in the Lexington Herald-Leader. Lawmakers left Frankfort last week without agreement on closing the hole in this year’s Medicaid budget, and are convening this week to give it another...