State of the States: “Ominous”
As a companion to Standard & Poor’s updating of state credit ratings and outlooks, the Pew Center’s “State of the States 2009” report is worth a look.
The report highlights the significant budget trade-offs that states are making in light of the recession and explains how the new administration and Congress are likely to affect state policy. Issues covered include:
- Recession trends – “The year after a recession ends is typically when state budgets are hit hardest.”
- Education – “States traditionally have been reluctant to cut school funding during hard times…This time, up against the worst economic crisis in decades, schools are not immune.”
- Corrections – “Criminal justice reform – for years a controversial issue for legislators wary of being labeled ‘soft on crime’ – is finding new proponents as public officials seek ways to save money.”
In a word, the future is ominous.- Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D).
- Energy – “After being in the forefront of energy and environmental policymaking for nearly a decade, states may be thrust into a more subordinate role in 2009.”
- Infrastructure – “By 2055, as much as $338 billion a year could be needed to maintain the nation’s transportation system.”
- Medicaid – “Even before the recession, states struggled to pay their share of $330 billion in fiscal 2007 for Medicaid coverage for more than 59 million low-income Americans and $8.6 billion for 7 million children and parents covered by the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.”
One interesting if discouraging tidbit from the report: many states participate in a greenhouse gas reduction initiative. Texas, the largest emitter of carbon dioxide by far, is not one of them.
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