- November 1, 2016
- Staff Report
A healthy Kansas economy starts with healthy Kansans. Our state enjoys many advantages when it comes to health – open space, clean air and water, and a good sense of community.
Despite these amenities, however, Kansas finds itself in the middle of the pack when examining the health, economic, and social foundation of the state in comparison to other states in the region. A stable economic underpinning works to promote the health and well-being of all Kansans. In other words, a Kansan’s health involves much more than just healthy living and good choices – a range of factors make an impact. These factors (also known as the social determinants of health) comprise approximately 90% of what determines the health of the state’s population
To determine how Kansas ranks relative to its regional counterparts, the Kansas Center for Economic Growth (KCEG) collected and analyzed a total of 39 indicators divided among the four key areas in the model above. Overall, Kansas ranks right in the middle of the pack when compared to the six other states in the region, which include Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.
While being ‘right in the middle’ may not sound so bad, this ranking doesn’t take into account how recent policy choices may impact Kansas’ performance for years to come. Whether it’s unsustainable state tax policy that limits investments in public education or a refusal to expand KanCare to help improve the physical and mental health of Kansans, state policy choices will reverberate through the state for some time.
Though the Health and Prosperity Index (HAPI) is a new endeavor, KCEG will track these indicators over time to determine the impact of current policy choices on future outcomes. For now, the Kansas API results focus on short-term indicators available today.
As many cities across the nation experience population decline and an increase in vacant and distressed property, there is a need for economic and housing revitalization. New research from Welcoming Economies Global Network and Fiscal Policy Institute indicates that immigrants represent some of the brightest potential for revitalizing urban communities. However, experience suggests, that immigrants are often overlooked and underestimated by homeownership, community development, and affordable housing advocates, practitioners, and programs.
This report, which includes an interactive tool, show that immigrants have strong rates of potential home ownership in 23 target cities, and suggest that efforts that encourage homeownership and/or vacant property purchase could yield significant returns by targeting immigrant groups.
Cities included in the study are: Akron, Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Des Moines, Detroit, Indianapolis, Lafayette (IN), Manchester, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Rochester, St. Louis, St. Paul, Syracuse, Toledo, Utica, and York (PA).
The interactive tool can be accessed here.
Despite strong rhetoric from policymakers and candidates about the importance of a high-quality education for all children, deep disparities persist in educational opportunities for Michigan children based on income, race and geography. The lack of equity in education has wide repercussions for Michigan’s economy and next generation.
Educational disparities do not occur in a vacuum and can be traced to public policies that limit employment and housing options for many parents, place children in schools without the resources to meet their needs, and often create insurmountable barriers to the American dream of a better life for our children and grandchildren.
Georgia is missing out on a time-tested tool that helps hardworking families, boosts small businesses and strengthens local economies. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia give a critical boost to families that work but struggle to make ends meet through a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). For full details on the case for enacting a state EITC in Georgia, see A Bottom-Up Tax Cut to Build Georgia’s Middle Class.
Enacting a state EITC, or Georgia Work Credit, would be an ambitious investment in more than 1 million families striving to break the cycle of poverty and ascend the economic ladder. As with any other public investment, it carries a cost in lost state revenue. That cost depends on two factors. First, the size of Georgia’s state match. Most state EITCs are set at a percentage of the federal credit, ranging from a low of 3.5 percent in Louisiana to a high of 40 percent in Washington, D.C. Second, lawmakers can choose whether a Georgia EITC is refundable or non-refundable. In all but three states with an EITC, lawmakers chose the refundable option to let working families keep the full value of the credit even if it exceeds their state income taxes.