Very thorough(bred?) report on how Kentucky is now a big casino state, which are taxed very small.

NEW: For the first time, wagering on Kentucky slot machines has topped $10 billion. They're popping up everywhere and Churchill Downs now makes far more from slots than racing. But the state isn't benefitting like it should due to a tax rate that's far lower than other states.

NEW: For the first time, wagering on Kentucky slot machines has topped $10 billion. They're popping up everywhere and Churchill Downs now makes far more from slots than racing. But the state isn't benefitting like it should due to a tax rate that's far lower than other states.

NEW: U.S. Census data shows slight improvements in poverty rates and median household income in Kentucky, but harmful federal legislation threatens that progress. Our breakdown: kypolicy.org/new-census-d...

Kentuckians believe in taking care of each other, especially our kids. One of the best ways to do that is by prioritizing our families by ensuring the success of our schools.

Our latest report makes the case for a new, robust commitment to public education in the next state budget. For the same cost as income tax cuts passed 3 of the last 4 years, KY could begin making up for years of disinvestment and strengthen schools across the commonwealth.

👏 Shoutout to @KyVoices4Health & @kypolicy for pushing back and making sure people know what’s at stake: our health care, our hospitals, and our communities. ✍️ Emily Beauregard @KyVoices4Health & Dustin Pugel @kypolicy.bsky.social Read more ➡️ www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-e...

It is time to bring an end to the wrong-headed goal of eliminating the state’s income tax, a policy that overwhelmingly benefits the wealthy.

The state missed the General Assembly’s revenue and spending hurdles for another income tax cut, despite the legislature moving the goalposts to make achieving it easier and an unexpected bump in notoriously volatile corporate tax receipts. Our statement:

Medicaid cuts are a threat to moms and babies across Kentucky. A @washingtonpost.com analysis finds that if our 35 at-risk hospitals close, the drive to the nearest birthing hospital would be increased by 30+ miles for residents of 22 rural counties.

Kevin Saltsman, a maintenance tech at BlueOval SK, is voting yes to secure a better future for his family. #StandUpBOSK

Workers at the Hardin County BOSK plant will vote on forming a union next week. Their campaign to win a union with @uaw.org is about safe working conditions, a voice on the job and affordable healthcare. But it's also a huge opportunity for every working-class Kentuckian.

A Kentuckian who works a full-time job earning the state’s minimum wage would now be considered to be living in poverty by government standards, according to a report by @kypolicy.bsky.social. From @wkmsfm.bsky.social

The Kentucky director of Right On Crime uses our latest report to make the conservative case against criminal legal system fines and fees. "If the only way to keep a budget afloat is to jail the poor and churn court debt, then the budget is the problem —not the people."

NEW: As Kentucky students head back to school, state funding for K-12 education continues to fall well below past efforts, preventing overdue investments to shrink class size, increase student supports and hire more teachers and bus drivers.

As Kentucky kids head back to school, the funding gap between wealthy and poor school districts grew again last year to $4,247 per student. Adjusted for inflation, that's a 13.6% bigger gap than it was in 1990 when the state passed KERA to address insufficient school funding. 1/2

The hardworking Kentuckians at the Ford Blue Oval SK plant deserve the union they're fighting for. But their victory wouldn't just mean safe working conditions and a voice on the job for them, it would be a win for all working class Kentuckians.

The harms of federal Medicaid cuts are already here. UofL is pausing plans for a new birthing center because "recent cuts to Medicaid have changed the landscape for health care services in Kentucky."

Commentary by Jason Bailey @kypolicy.bsky.social A union vote later this month at the Ford Blue Oval SK battery plant in Hardin County is a huge opportunity for every working-class Kentuckian across the state. kentuckylantern.com/2025/08/06/u...

NEW: As inflation and rising costs make it harder for people to provide for their families, at least 116,200 Kentuckians will see their student loan balances immediately start growing today.

Reminder: The OBBBA gives tax breaks to the wealthy while raising costs and cutting services for everyone else.

It's now been 16 years since Kentucky saw an increase in the minimum wage, which is officially below the poverty line for a full-time, year-round worker for the first time ever.

NEW: Nearly one year after House Bill 5 went into effect, Kentucky has seen 425 "unlawful camping" charges across 30 counties. That’s of more than one unhoused person cited or arrested for unlawful camping each day, on average.

For our new report, we wanted to better understand the vast web of criminal fines and fees in Kentucky. So we conducted a first-of-its-kind statute review and found more than 1,000 provisions in Kentucky law that impose criminal legal system fines and fees. Examples include:

The federal budget and tax law that passed last week will worsen health and deepen hardship in Kentucky and provide more giveaways to the already wealthy. Harms include: 1/

Really important new report from @kypolicy.bsky.social on a byzantine web of fines and fees in KY's criminal justice system www.kentucky.com/opinion/lind...

Our new report reveals the astonishing reach of criminal legal system fines and fees in Kentucky. Thousands of provisions in state law, and many local ordinances, make up a vast web of fines and fees that trap people in a cycle of debt and incarceration.

Don't miss Kentucky Tonight at 8 p.m. Policy Director Dustin Pugel will join Renee Shaw to talk about Medicaid and new federal legislation that risks the closure of 35 hospitals and threatens to terminate coverage from an estimated 210,000 Kentuckians.

🧵Stellar op-ed by Jason Bailey at Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: kentuckylantern.com/2025/06/27/w... For folks who care about the legacy of #CoalMiningHistory, protecting these #RuralHospitals that were initiated built by the #UMWA is important. For those who care about the #health

Eastern Kentucky miners fought and died to create a health care system in a region where the market never would have on its own. Now members of Congress threaten to take it away.

See that giant bar all the way to the left? That's how much rural Kentucky stands to lose under the proposed federal Medicaid cuts. We wouldn't just lose more than any other state, we'd lose around twice as much as any other state.

Commentary by Jason Bailey @kypolicy.bsky.social Will the coalfields ‘get over’ losing hospitals miners fought to create? Which side will Congress be on? kentuckylantern.com/2025/06/27/w...

Kentucky workers clocked in today with fewer workplace protections than they've had in decades. That's because HB 398, which prohibits Kentucky from having workplace safety rules that are more strict than federal rules, officially went into effect today.

Thousands of undocumented immigrants live in Kentucky, contribute millions to economy www.lex18.com/news/coverin...

Tell your representatives you won't "get over" cuts to Medicaid: actionnetwork.org/letters/tell...

Where are these hospitals located? We've got a map:

NEW: Proposed cuts to Medicaid risk 35 rural hospital closures in Kentucky, more than any other state. Is your local hospital on the list?

Here are the latest estimates from the Congressional Budget Office on the tax and spending bill moving through Congress right now. That's about a third of all Americans who would be worse off while the rich get much richer. www.cbo.gov/publication/...

This Senate proposal would still take food assistance from hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians, including kids, veterans, older adults, people with disabilities, refugees and Kentuckians with low wages already struggling to afford the rising costs of groceries.

NEW: The House budget shifts massive costs to states, most notably by requiring them to cover a portion of SNAP for the first time ever. That could mean KY having to budget an additional $253 million to maintain SNAP enrollment. Here's how that compares to some other state costs:

New on our DOGE cuts tracker: Job Corps centers around the country are being shut down, including three that serve over 500 low-income youth in Kentucky.

A rally to protect Medicaid and SNAP in Hardinsburg, Kentucky. A good reminder that Kentuckians understand how important these programs are to families kids, seniors, veterans and so many more.

House budget legislation includes: ✂️The biggest Medicaid cuts ever ✂️The biggest SNAP cuts ever 💰$45K in annual tax cuts for the richest KYians This is a recipe for greater hardship and the redistribution of wealth from hardworking KYians to the wealthiest.

How SNAP cuts threaten free school meals for 421,718 Kentucky students.

Medicaid in Kentucky gets absolutely hammered in the House bill--loss of $1.7 billion, 2nd-worst proportionally of all states, and lost coverage of 207,000-345,000 Kentuckians, 5th-worst among states

Our statement on the U.S. House passage of budget and tax legislation. 1/2

Congress is proposing to break the promise that the federal government covers the cost of SNAP benefits. Instead, it would shift the cost to state budgets and say, "You figure it out."

Those plans to cut Medicaid and SNAP you've heard about? They're being paired with plans to extend and expand tax breaks that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest Americans. Here's what that means for Kentuckians:

New on our DOGE cuts tracker: NOAA cuts have left the National Weather Service office in Breathitt County with no staff to cover overnight shifts.

More than 1 in 3 Kentuckians use Medicaid to see a doctor or afford medicine. SNAP helps more than 575,000 Kentuckians afford groceries. Both would be gutted by the House budget plan. Our op-ed on the human toll of this proposal: