The financial state of states: The truth may scare you
State government tax revenue is only 5 percent above its pre-recession level.
Eric Rosenbaum | @erprose
State finances across the U.S. have been described as stable but slow growing. Six years into the post-recession economic recovery, that statement may be accurate, but the full truth may be more troubling.
A handful of states are caught in a real pension fix. A few statehouse budget battles in recent months have been notable for their heightened drama—Kansas, where huge tax cuts backfired on Gov. Sam Brownback; and Louisiana, where a member of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s own party referred to his budget plan as “money laundering.”
But it’s not the extremes that have state budget experts concerned. More states have been unable to complete budgets so far this year than is typical, and the situation points to long-term spending problems—from K–12 education to Medicaid and infrastructure—that will persist.
“The picture is more gloomy than stable, and state fiscal conditions might be better described as stagnant,” said Lucy Dadayan, senior policy analyst at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government.
