Most folks working to revive our region’s economy agree that it is increasingly difficult to do if the state of Kentucky is not providing the basic investments we need in education, health, human services and infrastructure. So in this episode we are doing a deep dive into Kentucky’s budget and revenue options as the governor and General Assembly plan for 2021-2022.

Our reporting comes from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy’s annual conference, titled “What does Kentucky Value?,” which was held Jan 31, 2020 in Lexington, KY. KCEP Executive DIrector Jason Bailey kicked off the event with the notion that the Kentucky state budget is the primary policy document of the Commonwealth and thus should reflect our priorities and shared values. He is followed by Ashley Spaulding and Pam Thomas from the KCEP staff who describe recent budget cuts and revenue sources. We end with comments from the keynote address by Dr. Jared Bernstein, Economist and Senior Fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.