Internet Explorer 11 is not supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.
Girard Miller

Girard Miller

Finance Columnist

Girard Miller is the finance columnist for Governing. He is a retired investment and public finance professional and the author of “Enlightened Public Finance” (2019). Miller brings 30 years of experience in public finance and investments as a former Governmental Accounting Standards Board member and ICMA Retirement Corp. president.

Miller writes Governing's bi-weekly newsletter on public finance, which you can sign up for here.

He can be reached at millergirard@yahoo.com. 

They’ve mostly benefited real-estate developers. Here’s how to redeploy these tax incentives to grow new businesses and boost employment while leveraging state and local expertise and attracting a broader investor base.
As a recent study documents, federal fiscal stimulus created a budget windfall for states. Most cut taxes, and some now must scramble to make up for shortfalls. Congress is likely to impose tighter restrictions on future countercyclical aid, so it’s a time for all levels of government to get their acts together.
When the 2017 tax law expires next year, Congress will revisit the limits on SALT deductions on federal returns. With elections approaching, it’s time for governors and mayors to offer some viable new policy options — and ways to pay for them.
Pandemic money from Washington stimulated the economy but arguably ended up feeding inflation. Before the next downturn, governors, mayors and public financers need to be part of the conversation about how to open the countercyclical aid spigot quicker — and when to shut it off.
States can compensate with vehicle and odometer taxes, but local governments can harness new data technologies — including GPS, 5G and AI — to meet the need for more than states’ hand-me-down dollars.
State and local treasurers have been playing it safe by capturing high short-term rates. Some are wary of longer maturities, but markets spell lower short-term yields. Tricky decisions are in store.
The major public funds have almost doubled their investments in high-fee, nontraditional vehicles, and important new research shows how costly it’s been. It’s a wake-up call for greater scrutiny of fee structures and consultants' assumptions.
Homeowners are being squeezed out of affordable coverage. Sustainable intergovernmental partnerships with the insurance industry offer a solution. And there may be a role for state and local pension funds.
Chris Ailman, the chief investment officer for the giant California teachers’ pension fund, is retiring. He showed the way in navigating a landscape of complexity, hazards and challenges to achieve steady investment success.
With most public retirement systems seeing improved actuarial funding levels, there’s an opportunity to offer options that could make government compensation more competitive. But any impetus for change should come from pragmatic public employers, not partisans or lobbyists.