Via press release from KY Policy
The House introduced its state budget proposal on Tuesday and our new analysis shows that this plan severely cuts or freezes many parts of the state budget and underfunds essential public services, with the apparent goal of triggering more income tax cuts.
“The House budget introduced yesterday is what happens when the tax cut chickens come home to roost,” Jason Bailey, KyPolicy Executive Director, said in a statement. “Income tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthy are harming revenues and we begin seeing the results in this budget. That includes a 15% cut to higher education that will inevitably lead to higher tuition and more student debt, a $129 million annual underfunding of school transportation costs required by law, and over $800 million in unexplained cuts to the Medicaid program that funds health care for one in three Kentuckians.
“This first draft of the budget again denies state retirees help, despite 15 years without a cost-of-living adjustment. It keeps preschool funding frozen at 2019 levels, makes no mention of over $40 million a year that has helped keep child care centers afloat, and does not identify how new costs passed down from the federal government for SNAP and Medicaid will be covered. And it doesn’t include a base school funding increase necessary for the reinvestment our kids need and the raises our teachers and school employees deserve.
“At the same time, the budget leaves funds unspent with the apparent goal of triggering even more reductions to the income tax. More giveaways to the wealthy, and cuts to the services that benefit us all, is no way to build a Kentucky that everyone can afford and where all can prosper. There is plenty of time for the House to improve this budget with greater investments in the services needed to make Kentucky healthier and safer and our communities stronger.”
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