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May 1, 2024
4 min

There is Very Little Consistency or Apparent Coordination Between 7 State Reopen Pact ; Here's W

Despite being a southern state in every way imaginable, with a culture completely consistent with that of the Upper South, a shared history with the American South, and everything from dialect to food preferences that align incontrovertible with the region, Kentucky is partnered with six Midwestern states to coordinate reopening their state economies. This week, several states, Kentucky included, have provided additional details about their plans to reopen their state's econo

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pegasusinstitute

Apr 23, 2024
2 min

Kentucky Coronavirus Hospitalizations per capita More than 2x Higher than Tennessee

Comparisons to Tennessee are commonplace in Kentucky and the state government response to the coronavirus has been no different. In the first weeks of economic shutdowns, some outlets compared the total number of cases in Tennessee to the number in Kentucky, criticizing Volunteer State Governor Bill Lee for not enacting more draconian economic constraints. The widely used justifications for economic shutdowns was to avoid overwhelming the health care system, a universally des

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pegasusinstitute

Apr 21, 2024
2 min

Kentucky Could Be Out of Money to Pay Unemployment Benefits in Less Than a Month

After an unprecedented four weeks, three of which have set all time records for the number of Kentuckians filing for unemployment, the state’s unemployment insurance trust is projected to be approximately a month away from running out of money. National comparisons show Kentucky’s overall Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund solvency ranking 45th in the United States, only having enough money for about 4 more weeks of payments. Research by Pegasus Institute echoes those projecti

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pegasusinstitute

Apr 20, 2024
2 min

Kentucky's Per Capita Unemployment Claims More than 20% Higher Than Next Closest Neighboring Sta

A Pegasus Institute study found that Kentucky has experienced more new unemployment claims per 100,000 residents over the last four weeks than any neighboring state by a wide margin. Data from the past four weeks of unemployment claims for every state in the region show that Kentucky is not just highest per capita, but more than 20% higher than the next closest state, Ohio. Since the week ending on March 21st, the first week of unemployment data after the economic shutdown re

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pegasusinstitute

Apr 17, 2024
3 min

How Does Kentucky Stack Up with White House's New "Opening Up America Again" Criteria?

Yesterday, the White House announced its public health expert led plan to begin reopening the US economy. The plan, known as "Opening Up America Again," allows for a phased return to normal, helping to mitigate the potential for additional waves of COVID-19 and protecting the most vulnerable. A full copy of the plan, provided by the White House, is available here. What are the Three Phases? Phase One Individuals - Vulnerable populations continue sheltering in place - When in

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pegasusinstitute

Apr 13, 2024
2 min

Kentucky's Largest Cities Projected to be Among Worst Impacted in the United States by Economic

Kentucky's largest cities of Louisville, Lexington, and Bowling Green are particularly vulnerable to effects brought on by the economic pause related to the coronavirus pandemic. A recent study by The Brookings Institute found that all three were in the top 15 in the United States of cities that will immediately feel the fiscal impacts. The study considered two critical factors, the share of general fund revenues from elastic sources and share of metro employment in high risk

362 views0 comments

Apr 9, 2024
1 min

Kentucky 8th Highest in United States in Unemployment Claims, Highest in Region

New data compiled by The Tax Foundation, using today's record unemployment numbers, shows that Kentucky is 8th highest in the United States in unemployment compensation claims as a percentage of the civilian workforce. As of April 4th, 11.9% of Kentucky's civilian labor force has applied for or is receiving unemployment compensation. Among neighboring states, only Ohio joins Kentucky in double digits, with 11.5% of its population having applied for or receiving unemployment c

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Jan 9, 2024
5 min

Raising Taxes on Historical Racing Machines Would Be Devastating for Kentucky's Horse Industry,

The Kentucky General Assembly once again faces a challenging budget session in which projected revenue cannot meet the rising costs of Medicaid, pension obligations, and jail crowding. As we saw during the 2018 legislative session, where the budget faced similar constraints, self-interested observers have begun digging for potential revenue options, usually in the hopes of keeping some other government program or loophole intact. Such attempts virtually never yield good tax p

302 views0 comments

Jun 25, 2024
3 min

Kentucky's most successful Millennials are leaving. Where are they going?

A study released earlier this month found that Kentucky is one of the worst states in the United States at retaining successful millennials. The study compared data from all 50 states, and the District of Columbia, looking at the inflow of millennials, loosely defined as age 35 and under in the study, with an adjusted gross income of at least $100,000. It compared that with outflows under the same criteria. The tax data was gathered from the IRS for 2015-2016. Kentucky has on

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Jun 24, 2024
3 min

Lexington's Unemployment Rate is Below 3 Percent. How Do Other Metro Areas Compare?

Every month the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases area specific wage and employment data for metro areas. Kentucky is in a unique position for a few reasons. A) There are nine different metro areas that have at least one Kentucky county in them, but only five are based in Kentucky. Those five, in order of size, are Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, Owensboro, and Elizabethtown. Four more regions, Cincinnati, OH, Evansville, IN, Huntington, WV, and Clarksville, TN all ha

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Jun 6, 2024
2 min

Kentucky's Imports from Mexico are 4th Highest as a Percentage of GDP in the US - Tariffs will b

Throwing economic sensibilities and consensus to the wind, the Trump Administration is pursuing significant tariffs on products from Mexico, one of America and Kentucky's largest trading partners. Late on the evening of the 5th, the President announced in a tweet that “not nearly enough” progress had been made during discussions between the two countries and that “if no agreement is reached, Tariffs at the 5% level will begin on Monday, with monthly increases as per schedule.

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Jun 5, 2024
2 min

Unemployment Insurance Used Longer Than National Average in 9 of 10 Kentucky Regions

New Report: Since the deepest points of the Great Recession, the number of people in the labor market who are unemployed has dropped by 64 percent, a remarkable testament to the strength of our recovery. The decrease, even with the considerable increase in the labor market as a whole, has caused a precipitous drop in the unemployment rate, which is matching its lowest marks ever recorded. Our unemployment insurance structure remains a problem however, and one that is having a

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