The State of Working Kentucky 2014
More than five years after the recession officially ended, Kentucky workers still struggle with a scarcity of jobs and face...
Research
Increasing Accountability of For-Profit Colleges
In recent years, there has been a lot of debate over the value and role of for-profit colleges. Enrollment at these schools across the country has grown rapidly, but many...
New Health Cooperative Leading Way in Providing Exchange Coverage
Kentucky is continuing to gain national recognition for its success in expanding health insurance coverage, most recently in a Gallup poll showing Kentucky had the second-biggest drop of all states...
New Year-End Data Show Kentucky’s General Fund Continuing to Erode
In order to maintain investments in education, health, safety and other services that our citizens, businesses and communities rely on, Kentucky needs revenue growth that keeps pace with the economy....
Revenue Growth Will Need to Pick Up to Hit 2015 Forecast
State revenue is now expected to grow only 1.3 percent for the first three quarters of the new budget year that began in July, according to a just-released state interim...
Five Factors Behind Shrinking Revenue Growth in the Recovery
The rate of revenue growth in Kentucky’s General Fund has slowed down between 2011 and 2014, as seen in the graph below. That’s a big part of why Kentucky’s budget...
Kentucky Should Get Involved In Debate About New College Affordability Strategies
While recent discussion of the student debt crisis has focused largely on federal proposals to make student loan payments easier to manage, several states (not to mention Starbucks) are experimenting...
Evidence of Benefits of Medicaid Expansion Starting to Come In
Kentucky is starting to see the benefits of its decision to expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in dramatic reductions in the number of uninsured across Kentucky counties...
Lopsided Recovery Reflected in Which Revenue Sources Have Grown
Since declining in 2009 and 2010 because of the recession, Kentucky's General Fund revenues have grown for four straight years. But the state’s different sources of revenue have grown or...
Details of Revenue Shortfall Should Not Be Misinterpreted to Support Bad Tax Ideas
A $90 million revenue shortfall for FY 2014 adds to Kentucky’s challenge as the state moves forward into the new two-year budget. It’s important that the right conclusions about tax...