On December 9, the Congressional Budget Office published a report on fiscal stress faced by local governments. Given their circumstances, debt default or bankruptcy will be necessary in many cases, it says.
On December 8, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on employer costs for employee compensation. It finds that state and local government workers cost $26.25 per hour, including $13.85 in benefits. Compensation in the private sector averaged $27.88 per hour, but only $8.20 is for benefits.
On December 6, the Brookings Institution published a primer on state and local pension funding deficits. It estimates the shortfall at $3 trillion, two full years of tax revenue.
Also on December 6, the Mercatus Center published a working paper that detailed state tax and expenditure limitations, and the factors that contribute to their success or failure.
On November 23, the Tax Foundation published a study on the effects of extending or not extending all the Bush tax cuts on state finances. Since many states use the federal tax base for their income tax systems, changes at the federal level affect the states as well.
In a November 20 article, University of Pennsylvania law professor David Skeel advocated creation of a bankruptcy code for states to handle the inevitability of debt defaults in the near future.
A November 18 report by Stateline shows that state revenues are rebounding due to a stronger economy.
On October 26, the Tax Foundation released its latest State Business Tax Climate Index. South Dakota ranked first, New York last.
In an October 23 post, economist Andrew Biggs argues that analyses finding that state and local government workers are underpaid relative to comparable private sector workers are flawed because they don’t properly account for the former’s more generous retirement benefits.
On October 19, the Rockefeller Institute reported that state revenues continue to rise, but are still below 2008 levels.
On October 6, Pew and the Public Policy Institute of California published a survey of public attitudes in five distressed states. Among the findings: people are more willing to pay higher taxes to reduce borrowing and protect core government functions than politicians believe.
I last posted items on this topic on October 19.
Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column at The Fiscal Times. Read his most recent column here . Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).
