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Girard Miller

Girard Miller

Contributor

Girard Miller retired in January 2026 as Governing’s finance columnist, having contribued some 200 biweekly columns after five years of monthly commentary for his “Benefits Beat” series. He expects to continue submitting occasional guest commentaries.

Miller was formerly an investment and public finance professional, and the author of numerous professional publications including the 2019 book “Enlightened Public Finance.” His professional career spanned 45 years of leadership in public finance and investments, which included the presidency of two national mutual funds. He has sponsored collegiate scholarships in his field for 25 years. Now residing in southern California, he can be contacted through LinkedIn.

The COVID-19 pandemic recession has revealed major cracks in our systems of public finance, from the way we tax to the limits of fiscal federalism. We need to get to work on repairs.
Local governments have come to rely more and more on user charges to fund municipal operations. They're being challenged through the lens of equity and social justice, and they warrant a review.
Cities and counties are stepping in to try to preserve their communities' jobs and economies. It looks like it's helping. But the programs need to be designed to prevent mischief and protect taxpayers.
To resolve the stalemate on COVID-19 relief for states and localities, Congress should require a contractual commitment to robust rainy-day funds and promote serious efforts to fix pension underfunding.
There isn't enough money there to significantly redress urban inequalities. The best way forward is to rethink law enforcement budgets for better policing and to de-fang unions that shield bad cops.
Fear of contagion en route is keeping travelers on the ground, crushing local businesses and regional economies. Airport authorities should band together to establish on-site rapid testing.
Raising the cap on the federal deduction for state and local taxes while putting a lid on another tax break would benefit more taxpayers and the governments closer to them.
Caught between the Federal Reserve's new strategy for managing inflation and historically low bond yields, the plans now need to take a fresh look at their actuarial assumptions and inflation protection.
In the absence of substantial pandemic aid from Washington, there might be a role for the central bank: longer-term loans. But let's not create another perpetual-deficit machine.
Some taxes are more impaired by the pandemic recession than others, and each jurisdiction is impacted differently, but many will still suffer revenue slumps into next year and even beyond.