Citizens Express Optimism About State's Progress

Kentuckians believe the state is making progress on key goals for the future, a recent report from the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center finds. But they see the state losing the most ground on goals they rank among the most important to the state’s future—universal health care and poverty alleviation.

Measures and Milestones 1998, the second in a planned series of biennial reports from the Center’s Visioning Kentucky’s Future project, presents 26 long-term goals for the state and proposed measures of progress on each goal. It also includes the results of a statewide survey that asked citizens to assess the state’s progress on the goals, which were developed with extensive citizen input. Specifically, citizens were asked if Kentucky is making progress, losing ground, or standing still on goals dealing with issues such as health care, housing, education, economic development, the environment and government.

In general, the survey results suggest citizens believe Kentucky is making progress on most of the goals for the future. They gave 19 of the 26 goals more making progress votes than losing ground votes. Conversely, seven goals were placed in losing ground territory.

Citizens gave mixed reviews to Kentucky’s progress in the economic arena. While their responses suggest optimism about the potential benefits of engagement in the global economy, citizens expressed little confidence in the progress of an entrepreneurial economy. The highest percentage of making progress votes went to Goal 15, Kentucky will benefit from participation in an integrated global economy, while Goal 20, Kentucky will create an entrepreneurial economy, got the highest percentage of standing still votes.

Importantly, Goal 4, All Kentuckians will have access to affordable, high-quality, and comprehensive health care that stresses the importance of preventive care, which citizens rated as one of the most important to the future of the state, garnered the highest percentage of losing ground responses. The highly ranked goal of alleviating poverty received the second highest percentage of losing ground responses.

As part of the survey, citizens listed those goals they think are most important to the state’s future. By far, Goal 7, Kentuckians will have an education system of lifelong learning that exemplifies excellence, received the most votes. The second and third most important goals, citizens said, are, Goal 1, Kentucky communities will be safe and caring places that enable all citizens to lead productive, fulfilling lives, and Goal 4, All Kentuckians will have access to affordable, high-quality, and comprehensive health care that stresses the importance of preventive care. Citizens rated poverty alleviation fourth in overall importance.

The report assigns stars to the goals citizens ranked as most important and as areas of progress. Stars went to goals on recycling, the arts, school partnerships, and participation in the global economy. Red flags, suggesting the need for special attention in the years ahead, went to goals that citizens ranked as most important yet saw little progress. They were health care, poverty alleviation, safe schools, a strong farm economy, a fair and responsible tax and regulatory structure, open government, and a fair justice system.

The Visioning Kentucky’s Future project was designed to establish a unifying vision and goals for the state and recognized measures of progress on each goal. It was launched in 1994 with a series of public meetings in which citizens were asked to share their preferred vision of the state’s future. Citizen responses were melded into long-term goals that have been offered for review in reports, articles and other literature and at Center conferences. Measures and Milestones 1998 assesses the state’s progress on each goal in narrative discussions and proposed measurements, some of which include new information from statewide surveys conducted by the University of Kentucky Survey Research Center for the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center.