Kentucky is officially the "Worst Run State in America" (Paducah: credit rating, how much)

[EclecticEars]

The Best and Worst Run States In America: A Survey of All Fifty - 24/7 Wall St.

Study conducted by 24wallst.com.

Best run state: Wyoming.

Oh, and a shocker: our debt per capita is not that far off from California's!

I knew Kentucky was a poorly-run and inefficient state and I would have put it in the bottom ten, but even I was a little surprised when I saw it dead last.

[kentuckydad95]

Who the hell is 24wallst? Sounds like a credible site.

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by kentuckydad95

Who the hell is 24wallst? Sounds like a credible site.

I assume you're being sarcastic.

[kentuckydad95]

Originally Posted by EclecticEars

I assume you're being sarcastic.

Yes I am. I wouldn't read too much into that site. Maybe they should look at Illinois, who can't fund anything and have leaders who end up in jail at the end of each term. You should hear the stories they run over here on WPSD in Paducah.

[SacalaitWhisperer]

icanmakeupsomestufftoo.com!

[johnsonkk]

The credit rating for Kentucky was mis-portrayed compared with other states. The article slams Kentucky for a AA rating but the morons skip over California and Illinois single A rating. AAA (regardless of minus/pluses) is better than single A.

As for debt per capita, Kentucky doesn't have a lot of debt (in $$) compared to the (relatively) small population. Massachusetts (which is rated #19 overall) is 4x higher debt per resident than Kentucky, per capita (which is what this article quotes). and since when is 'Median Income' a measuring stick or a state's health? So you know how much more taxes you can suck out of your residents?

If the authors are going to not weight the categories mathematically and subjectively, why even use any stats... Write away. Slant however you feel. PER CAPITA STATE BOND DEBT FOR 50 STATES

[Wing Feathers]

While I am not happy with Kentucky's love for corrupt politicians like Beshear, Conway, Chandler, etc... I wouldn't say this is the "worst" state.

[easydoesit]

Rural KY can really dilute some of the state's reasonable numbers - Appalachian country has had high unemployment and low education rates even in the best of times

All of our cities rank avg or better when looking at per capita income and household income

So I find it hard to believe the fact that we have bigger metros and more metros yet rank worse than Mississippi

Are you telling me someone in MS has a better chance to provide for themselves and their family with the opportunities there?

[kentuckydad95]

I have been all through Mississippi, north to south and in between. The place is awful. Simply awful. I have never seen so many boarded up buildings in my entire life. Just from my own two eyes, there is NO WAY in hell that Kentucky is worse off than Ole Miss.

[GraniteStater]

I wouldn't say it is the worst run state, but it is definitely in the top five. When a state like Kentucky has so many systemic problems with proverty, undereducation, obesity, drug use, severe rural unemployment (even in good times as a result of decades of coal decline) it creates cycles of problems. Kentucky is also the most rural state in the country in terms of having the highest percentage of its population living in non-metropolitan or micropolitan cities. Combine this with a relative lack of out-migration from the poorest counties (often people can't even afford to leave) and you have a synopsis of eastern Kentucky. The website (quickfacts.census.gov) spells out the situation with a county by county breakdown.
The number one solution starts with an increase in educational attainment levels and employment. Until you solve those two big issues you will not see improvement.