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liz-farmer

Liz Farmer

Liz Farmer, who formerly covered fiscal policy as a Governing staff writer, helps lead the Pew Charitable Trusts’ state fiscal health project’s Fiscal 50 online resource, focusing on budgets, fiscal distress, tax policy and pensions. A former research fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s Future of Labor Research Center, Farmer holds a bachelor’s degree in American history, film and television production from George Washington University and a master’s in journalism from the University of Maryland.

Public pensions were dealt a historic blow Tuesday when a Detroit bankruptcy judge sided with the city in ruling that entitlements could be subject to cuts in municipalities under Chapter 9 protection.
The pension system is not to blame for Detroit’s woes – but Detroit's risky investments to prop up the pension system sure didn't help.
A meager growth environment could have issuers tapering their borrowing, but local governments are still expected to be a stable investment.
As the nation’s governors and their staffs are knee-deep in numbers, policies and late nights, there's one certainty this budget-writing season: Don’t count on anything.
As agencies revamp their criteria, seemingly conflicting actions have some scratching their heads.
In contrast to other cities, Baltimore has increased its savings while lowering the property tax rate. But Baltimore's budgeting style is a hard sell.
Texas voters have approved a measure that makes it easier for older homeowners to downsize their homes without getting hit twice on closing costs.
Cincinnatians voted four to one against a ballot measure that would close off Cincinnati’s current pension system to new employees and reduce benefits for current employees.
Are the bad vibes at the federal level encouraging more interest at the lower levels – or is it bad advertising all around for the public sector?
Texas is the only state that doesn't allow reverse mortgages for the purchase of a home.