Jason Bailey
@jbaileyky.bsky.social
Executive Director, @KyPolicy
Even as affordability is a growing challenge, KY slashed its TANF benefits for low-income kids by 35% this month, shifting funds to plug a child welfare shortfall. That’s counterproductive, as neglect due to poverty is a major contributor to child welfare cases: www.cbpp.org/blog/states-...
States Should Use TANF to Help Families Meet Their Basic Needs and Thrive, Not to Balance Budgets
In recent months, Kentucky and South Dakota have cut cash benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, reducing support that families need for essentials like rent,...
www.cbpp.org
November 12, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Even as affordability is a growing challenge, KY slashed its TANF benefits for low-income kids by 35% this month, shifting funds to plug a child welfare shortfall. That’s counterproductive, as neglect due to poverty is a major contributor to child welfare cases: www.cbpp.org/blog/states-...
While most Kentuckians are struggling with affordability, the wealthy have been showered with enormous state and federal tax cuts passed over the last decade, a new @kypolicy.bsky.social reports shows. 1/
November 11, 2025 at 3:00 PM
While most Kentuckians are struggling with affordability, the wealthy have been showered with enormous state and federal tax cuts passed over the last decade, a new @kypolicy.bsky.social reports shows. 1/
Reposted by Jason Bailey
Breaking News: The Trump administration was ordered to release billions of dollars in backup funds for SNAP, the nation’s largest anti-hunger program, after the administration said the government shutdown meant it couldn’t tap contingency funds.
Judge orders Trump administration to release billions in SNAP contingency funds
The government did rely on contingency funding to keep food aid going when it shut down during President Donald Trump’s first term.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Breaking News: The Trump administration was ordered to release billions of dollars in backup funds for SNAP, the nation’s largest anti-hunger program, after the administration said the government shutdown meant it couldn’t tap contingency funds.
If Congress and the President are not going to act to protect SNAP food assistance, we in Kentucky must step up. The state’s rainy day fund is for rainy days, and cutting off SNAP benefits on November 1st is a downpour for 1 in 8 Kentuckians. 1/
October 30, 2025 at 4:50 PM
If Congress and the President are not going to act to protect SNAP food assistance, we in Kentucky must step up. The state’s rainy day fund is for rainy days, and cutting off SNAP benefits on November 1st is a downpour for 1 in 8 Kentuckians. 1/
Reposted by Jason Bailey
“That needs to be on the list of options, because it’s a downpour for the 600,000 Kentuckians who are not going to have enough food on the table if their benefits are cut off. I believe that the primary purpose of the rainy day fund is for emergencies. And this is one.” - @jbaileyky.bsky.social
KY has billions in ‘rainy day fund.’ Can the state use it to pay SNAP benefits?
If the federal government doesn’t cover November SNAP benefits, should Kentucky tap its budget reserves?
www.kentucky.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:00 PM
“That needs to be on the list of options, because it’s a downpour for the 600,000 Kentuckians who are not going to have enough food on the table if their benefits are cut off. I believe that the primary purpose of the rainy day fund is for emergencies. And this is one.” - @jbaileyky.bsky.social
Gov. Andy Beshear joins lawsuit by states against the Trump administration for illegally cutting off SNAP benefits for 42 million Americans on Nov. 1: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
www.documentcloud.org
October 28, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Gov. Andy Beshear joins lawsuit by states against the Trump administration for illegally cutting off SNAP benefits for 42 million Americans on Nov. 1: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Reposted by Jason Bailey
Families who buy health insurance on kynect will see their costs soar when open enrollment begins Nov 1.
Are you one of them? Share your story and push Congress to ensure you stay covered: forms.gle/wmgMCb38y5jG...
Are you one of them? Share your story and push Congress to ensure you stay covered: forms.gle/wmgMCb38y5jG...
October 22, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Families who buy health insurance on kynect will see their costs soar when open enrollment begins Nov 1.
Are you one of them? Share your story and push Congress to ensure you stay covered: forms.gle/wmgMCb38y5jG...
Are you one of them? Share your story and push Congress to ensure you stay covered: forms.gle/wmgMCb38y5jG...
Kentuckians in every corner of the state could see their health premiums double or more if Congress does not extend the expiring kynect subsidies. That includes:
--1,122 people in Calloway Co
--603 in Adair
--2,551 in Daviess
--474 in Floyd
--3,977 in Warren
--1,429 in Bullitt
1/2
--1,122 people in Calloway Co
--603 in Adair
--2,551 in Daviess
--474 in Floyd
--3,977 in Warren
--1,429 in Bullitt
1/2
October 22, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Kentuckians in every corner of the state could see their health premiums double or more if Congress does not extend the expiring kynect subsidies. That includes:
--1,122 people in Calloway Co
--603 in Adair
--2,551 in Daviess
--474 in Floyd
--3,977 in Warren
--1,429 in Bullitt
1/2
--1,122 people in Calloway Co
--603 in Adair
--2,551 in Daviess
--474 in Floyd
--3,977 in Warren
--1,429 in Bullitt
1/2
This is a total disaster. Tick tock, Congress: only you can stop it
Kentucky opened its 2026 ACA marketplace window shopping this week – and again, residents are seeing big premium spikes because of expiring tax credit enhancements. A typical 60-year-old couple making $85,000 is facing a $23,700 increase in annual premiums. (1/4)
October 17, 2025 at 9:37 PM
This is a total disaster. Tick tock, Congress: only you can stop it
Reposted by Jason Bailey
OpEd: Health care is among the key household costs that keep many working families awake at night.
Government shutdown is about health care costs, and making life affordable | Opinion
OpEd: Health care is among the key household costs that keep many working families awake at night.
bit.ly
October 2, 2025 at 2:20 PM
OpEd: Health care is among the key household costs that keep many working families awake at night.
Op-Ed: Congressional health care fight is about making life affordable kentuckylantern.com/2025/10/02/c...
Congressional health care fight is about making life affordable • Kentucky Lantern
Health care costs keep many working families awake at night. Americans want their government to solve that problem, not make it worse.
kentuckylantern.com
October 2, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Op-Ed: Congressional health care fight is about making life affordable kentuckylantern.com/2025/10/02/c...
As state funding falls behind, teachers in 40 Kentucky school districts got no raise this year www.kentucky.com/news/politic...
Teachers in 40 Kentucky school districts got no raise this year, report says
Ahead of the 2026 legislative budget cycle, teachers and advocates reup their calls for Kentucky to invest in education.
www.kentucky.com
October 2, 2025 at 1:12 PM
As state funding falls behind, teachers in 40 Kentucky school districts got no raise this year www.kentucky.com/news/politic...
If Congress doesn't extend expiring healthcare aid, costs will skyrocket for Kentuckians buying health insurance on kynect:
September 30, 2025 at 6:57 PM
If Congress doesn't extend expiring healthcare aid, costs will skyrocket for Kentuckians buying health insurance on kynect:
The typical KY school district increased teacher pay by only 2% this year, with 40 districts providing no raise at all. Inadequate state funding kept districts from gaining ground on eroding teacher salaries, which are 20% below inflation-adjusted 2008 levels 1/2
September 24, 2025 at 1:45 PM
The typical KY school district increased teacher pay by only 2% this year, with 40 districts providing no raise at all. Inadequate state funding kept districts from gaining ground on eroding teacher salaries, which are 20% below inflation-adjusted 2008 levels 1/2
New $300 million budget shortfall, caused in large part by state income tax cuts, causing thousands of seniors to go on waiting list for meals
www.lpm.org/news/2025-09...
www.lpm.org/news/2025-09...
Thousands of senior Kentuckians likely to go back on the waitlist for meal support
Kentucky officials told agencies that provide senior nutrition programs that they will no longer receive a higher level of support that allowed them to eliminate waitlists.
www.lpm.org
September 23, 2025 at 7:45 PM
New $300 million budget shortfall, caused in large part by state income tax cuts, causing thousands of seniors to go on waiting list for meals
www.lpm.org/news/2025-09...
www.lpm.org/news/2025-09...
Today the state's forecasting body reduced the official revenue estimate for this year by $305 million in the face of a weakening economy and another reduction in the state individual income tax rate to 3.5% to take effect Jan. 2026. 1/
September 16, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Today the state's forecasting body reduced the official revenue estimate for this year by $305 million in the face of a weakening economy and another reduction in the state individual income tax rate to 3.5% to take effect Jan. 2026. 1/
Reposted by Jason Bailey
👏 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...
Read more ➡️ www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-e...
Don’t listen to politicians who say Big Beautiful Bill will save Medicaid | Opinion
OpEd: The Big Beautiful Bill weakens Medicaid, straining our healthcare infrastructure, reducing access, and driving up costs for everyone.
www.kentucky.com
September 8, 2025 at 3:24 PM
👏 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...
Read more ➡️ www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-e...
Reposted by Jason Bailey
Very thorough(bred?) report on how Kentucky is now a big casino state, which are taxed very small.
Kentucky Is Now a Casino State: Slot Machine Gambling Surpasses $10 Billion Annually, But at What Cost? - Kentucky Center for Economic Policy
Kentucky has rapidly become a casino state as legalized slot machine gambling has proliferated across the bluegrass in recent years. With 13 facilities now operating thousands of slot machines, the am...
kypolicy.org
September 15, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Very thorough(bred?) report on how Kentucky is now a big casino state, which are taxed very small.
Kentucky is now a "casino state" with gambling on slot machines surpassing $10 billion this year, more betting per capita than neighboring Ohio. But tax revenue from slots in KY falls far below comparable states even as the problems with gambling addiction grow dramatically. 1/2
September 15, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Kentucky is now a "casino state" with gambling on slot machines surpassing $10 billion this year, more betting per capita than neighboring Ohio. But tax revenue from slots in KY falls far below comparable states even as the problems with gambling addiction grow dramatically. 1/2
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
August 13, 2025 at 1:37 PM
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
BlueOval SK Union Drive Echoes Workers’ Historic Safety Fight at Ford youtu.be/vK5JCibudmM?... via @YouTube
BlueOval SK Union Drive Echoes Workers’ Historic Safety Fight at Ford
YouTube video by UAW
youtu.be
August 12, 2025 at 5:58 PM
BlueOval SK Union Drive Echoes Workers’ Historic Safety Fight at Ford youtu.be/vK5JCibudmM?... via @YouTube
Kentucky Minimum Wage Now Half its Previous Peak, and Below Poverty Line kypolicy.org/kentucky-min...
Kentucky Minimum Wage Now Half its Previous Peak, and Below Poverty Line - Kentucky Center for Economic Policy
As of this week, it has been 16 years since the minimum wage was increased. Failure to increase this threshold has left working Kentuckians with a wage floor less than half of what it once was and dri...
kypolicy.org
July 24, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Kentucky Minimum Wage Now Half its Previous Peak, and Below Poverty Line kypolicy.org/kentucky-min...
Spencer County, Mayfield Independent and Monroe County are the Kentucky school districts where the programs the Trump administration is now withholding funds for--totaling $87 million across the state--made up the largest share of their 2024 federal funds.
Here are the top 20:
Here are the top 20:
July 18, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Spencer County, Mayfield Independent and Monroe County are the Kentucky school districts where the programs the Trump administration is now withholding funds for--totaling $87 million across the state--made up the largest share of their 2024 federal funds.
Here are the top 20:
Here are the top 20:
If you hated the big ugly bill that passed Congress, you should also hate the Kentucky legislature’s efforts to reduce or even eliminate the state’s individual income tax. They're the same idea. Here's why: 1/
July 17, 2025 at 8:26 PM
If you hated the big ugly bill that passed Congress, you should also hate the Kentucky legislature’s efforts to reduce or even eliminate the state’s individual income tax. They're the same idea. Here's why: 1/
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/
July 11, 2025 at 7:30 PM
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/