In its recent publication of the State of the States report, Barron’s magazine identified Kentucky as 47th worst in overall financial health. Just last year Moody’s and Fitch rating agencies downgraded Kentucky’s bond rating. The Barron’s report serves as another sobering reminder that our unsustainable state pension system must be addressed. Barron’s noted the Commonwealth’s significantly high unfunded pension liability as well as its general debt to GDP ratio as the main concerns for Kentucky’s fiscal problems.
The Kentucky General Assembly recently appointed a Task Force on Kentucky’s public pension system, where Chamber President & CEO Dave Adkisson presented commonsense solutions on behalf of the business community.
“The business community is encouraged to see the legislature addressing this issue,” said Adkisson. “But the recent report from Barron’s reiterates how critical it is that we not delay addressing this issue any longer. It’s time to make the tough decisions necessary to get Kentucky’s fiscal house in order.”
The Chamber has encouraged members of the task force to make recommendations that lawmakers can implement in the 2013 Kentucky General Assembly. For more information on how these rankings affect the economic growth of the Commonwealth, view the Chamber’s Ready for Jobs report.