For about an hour lawmakers and policy experts gathered at the Pavilion Building to hear a comprehensive report by Legislative Economist Tom Kavet on the state of the Vermont economy and how it fits into the larger national trends.
The average taxpayer burden across all 50 states to cover the debt was $8,400, and 40 state governments were unable to pay their bills.
New Hampshire lawmakers and Republican Gov. Chris Sununu reached a compromise on the state budget after a nearly two-month long stalemate. The House and Senate must approve the deal Wednesday.
Now is not the time to ignore what the financial world is telling us about our spending habits. The message is clear: we need a different policy direction. We need to refocus all our legislative energy towards fixing foundational problems.
If states want to make good on their obligations, many will have to drastically increase taxes, severely cut services, or default on their debts and lose access to credit. However, it’s only a matter of time before state policymakers, not wanting to face those consequences, seek a federal bailout.
While politicians debate expansive new government programs, even amid a worsening debt situation, fiscally prudent Americans may find some solace in alternative plans put forward to rein in our government’s bloated budget.
Three key findings highlight states losing $283 billion worth of tax revenue over 10 years, their budgets being hampered by Medicaid spending growth, and their unfunded pension debt reaching an all-time high.
When some poor Vermonter asks his legislator, “Can’t you cut something from that budget?” he or she gets this question for an answer: “what should we cut?” The lack of transparency makes it hard to come up with specific, comprehensive, transformative cuts.
It’s nice to have more money in your pocket. And thanks to the 2017 tax cuts, the typical American is now paying less in taxes.
The end of fiscal-year 2018 saw states socking away a record amount in rainy-day funds – nearly $60 billion – with Colorado and Michigan reporting some of the heftiest reserve accounts, according to a new Pew Charitable Trusts study.
States are increasingly lured by the federal government to receive so-called free money, but in the process have become branch offices of Washington — or, even worse, indistinguishable from the federal government itself.