Taxes
Covering topics such as bonds, cryptocurrency, federal aid and pensions.
States are spending a lot of their federal TANF money on things that don’t help families that need it the most, and work reporting requirements keep too many families from accessing benefits.
States and localities have been slow to spend federal emergency money.
The California governor last year poured $12 billion into homeless housing and services and wants to invest another $1.5 billion next year. But advocates want long-term investments instead of one-time grants.
Governments are desperate to recoup lost revenue as people cut the cable cord.
The state will receive millions in federal aid over the next five years to invest in its bridges, 21.2 percent of which have been deemed structurally deficient, more than 14 percent higher than the national average.
While the state tracks data on job loss, inflation and rising housing costs, it does not include eviction numbers, leading many officials to underestimate the number of renters who need financial aid.
Many years ago, public financiers woke up to the problem of funding “other post-retirement benefits,” but then some of them went back to sleep. Younger public employees should demand an actuarial wake-up call.
Much attention has been given to the billions the bill will put toward bridges, cybersecurity and more. But behind the big-ticket items are many small projects. Here are some that will impact state and local government.
The nation’s four largest cities are among those requesting more leeway to challenge undercounts.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has suggested using the extra money on pension debt, budget reserves and, possibly, another round of stimulus checks. The Legislature has until June 15 to pass the final budget.
While states and localities still have a long way to go toward getting everyone access to high-speed Internet, efforts at all levels of government, and especially federal funding, promise positive progress.
Barring unknowable virus mutation scenarios, state and local fiscal managers have the opportunity to navigate trends and crosscurrents already underway to make better decisions. One factor figures into almost everything: inflation.
Three Republican state legislators used taxpayer dollars to fund their trips to Sioux Falls, S.D., for MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s three-day “Cyber Symposium” which perpetuated 2020 election fraud conspiracy theories.
The county Legislature recently approved plans to create a county-controlled organization to oversee and manage a $20 million, county-sponsored fiber-optic network called ErieNet.
The state has two community coalitions as finalists in the “Build Back Better Regional Challenge,” which would spur economic growth and job creation in the Middle Rio Grande Corridor.
This year taught us to humbly expect the unexpected, from hundreds of billions in federal “helicopter money” to $35,000 bonuses to lure back retired transit workers. And how is your public pension fund doing on something called ESG?
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