I thought I would focus a post on a few interesting reads about some of the problems our fine state is facing.
Kentucky grows more Urban – very in-depth review of demographics shaping the state. Among those discussed of interest to Fort Thomas and Northern Kentucky include – a shift toward urban areas (NKY featured in the discussion) and population increases (largely due to living longer and Hispanic immigration). Read the full article though as there is some great analysis
Kentucky named the worse run state in the US – A report appeared on Forbes.com referencing a site called 24/7 Wall Street naming Kentucky as the worse run state. As with all these rankings you could debate the use of certain measures as a real benchmark of state performance. A great example of this is the GDP number which has Delaware the far and away leader largely because of its favorable tax policies related to incorporation. The analysis includes the following summary:
Although Kentucky doesn’t place 50th in any one category, its overall poor scores secures its place as the worst-run state on our list. It is 43rd in GDP per capita, 47th in median household income, 47th in citizens with high school diplomas, and, at 18.6%, is 48th for percentage of the population below the poverty line.  Kentucky also has an extremely weak S&P rating of AA-, supporting our assessment that it is the worst-run state in the country.
Lastly, I have been seeing a lot more discussion lately about the impact of the large number of counties in Kentucky on the current budget situation. Â At 120 counties the only other states with more counties is Texas and Georgia which both have a larger area than Kentucky. Â Do you think this is a viable solution to fixing some of the budget problems the state and local governments face?