Federal tax policy
“We see a Kentucky that pays its bills and balances its budgets by accepting all the federal funds that we receive, and by raising our own state revenue in a fair and responsible way. I have seen is the impact that necessary functions of government have had on my life. We have an opportunity to build on these strengths that we’ve worked so hard for. This is the reality that we want to build on. It’s not only the right thing to do – it’s the smart thing to do. We all share a common future.”
Greg Capillo
Lexington
The impact of the federal budget in Kentucky
For every dollar Kentuckians pay in federal taxes, we get back between $1.51 and $1.82 in federal investments, depending on which study is consulted.
An excerpt from a Lexington Herald-Leader article by John Cheeves (May 16, 2010) details the federal funds that help run Kentucky and our economy. Below is a partial list, using data from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and other government agencies:
- Funding for flood insurance – $2.1 billion a year
- Mortgage insurance – $877 million
- Crop insurance – $667 million
- Food stamps – $674 million
- Veterans disability benefits – $478 million
- Pell Grants for 137,000 of Kentucky’s college students – $182 million
- Head Start for 16,000 children – $100 million
- Eighty percent of Kentucky's Medicaid costs are paid with federal funds.
Resources
Here are some national organizations that provides lots of information and resources on federal tax policy:
Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (including a Kentucky page)
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Also, our friends at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy track some reports that examine the federal budget implications for Kentuckians.
Some of our best opportunities for achieving a better quality of life for all Kentuckians – and some of our biggest threats against it – are the federal economic policies being decided in Congress.
Kentucky’s two senators and six representatives play a prominent role in these decisions. Sen. Mitch McConnell, as the minority floor leader in the Senate, and Rep. Hal Rogers, as the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, are in very public positions of power. Sen. Rand Paul, though in his first-term, is a dominant voice in the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party. Other House members have influential committee positions.
Through tax and budget policies, they are making major decisions affecting environmental protection, access to affordable education, health and wellness services, child nutrition and many other programs and priorities that affect every Kentuckian's opportunity to succeed. And since Kentucky's tax system largely mirrors the federal tax code, these decisions may also affect Kentucky's ability to raise the revenue we need on the state level.
KFTC members are making our voices heard in Washington, D.C. on federal economic policies that impact our commonwealth.
Fixing What's Broke: why Congress must support a Just Transition for miners with black lung and communities
A new report from KFTC describes ways Kentuckians are organizing to demand action from Congress – and especially from Senator Mitch McConnell – in support of a Just Transition for miners with black lung disease, retired and laid off miners, and their communities.
To build a new economy in coal communities, the report says Congress should start by "fixing what's broke," including strengthening funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, passing the RECLAIM Act, and protecting miners' pensions.
Fix What's Broke: Why Congress Must Support a Just Transition for Miners and Communities
This report, published by KFTC in October 2018, outlines actions Congress must take to support a Just Transition for our miners and communities, including strengthening the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, passing the RECLAIM Act to create jobs restoring damaged land and waterways, and protecting miners' pensions.
Knott County Local Resolution on Black Lung and RECLAIM Act
On October 16, 2018 the Knott County Fiscal Court passed a local resolution calling on Sen. McConnell and members of Congress to strengthen the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, pass the RECLAIM Act, and protect miners' pensions.
Local black lung resolution is picking up steam
Most recent update as of Jan 2, 2019: Sixteen local governments in Kentucky have passed local resolutions in 2018 calling on Senator McConnell and other members of Congress to do right by our miners and communities by passing the RECLAIM Act, strengthening funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, and protecting miners' pensions.
* * *
The resolution was first adopted by the City of Benham in Harlan County in September 2018. That action was followed quickly by local governments in the cities of Jackson, Morehead and Whitesburg, and in Breathitt, Knott, Letcher, Rowan and Pike counties.
Knott, Letcher, Rowan and Pike counties became the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th local governments in eastern Kentucky to pass a local resolution calling on members of Congress to pass several bills needed to help sick, disabled, retired and unemployed coal miners and their communities. The fiscal courts in Letcher and Knott counties took the unanimous action at their respective monthly meetings on October 15, and Pike and Rowan counties acted the next day.
Update 11.30.2018: The Floyd County Fiscal Court became the 10th Kentucky community to pass the resolution on October 18. Magoffin County quickly became the 11th, followed by Ohio County, in Western Kentucky, Knox County, and the City of Lynch in Harlan County.
Update 12.10.2018: Johnson County's Fiscal Court passed the 15th resolution in Kentucky by local governments calling on Senator McConnell and other members of Congress to do right by our miners and coal communities!
Update in late December: Harlan County's Fiscal Court passed the 16th resolution urging Congress to pass the RECLAIM Act, strengthen the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, and protect miners' pensions.
City of Jackson Black Lung / RECLAIM / Pension Resolution
In October 2018 the City of Jackson, Kentucky in Breathitt County unanimously passed a local resolution calling on Congress to pass the RECLAIM Act, strengthen the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, and protect the pension fund that supports miners who worked for coal companies that have since gone bankrupt.
Page
