Research Report Governing with Tight Budgets
Subtitle
Long-Term Trends in State Finances
Norton Francis, Frank Sammartino
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Changing demographics, technology, and inflation are creating an increasingly difficult environment for state budgets. An aging population puts more pressure on spending programs while reducing tax revenues from some sources. State sales tax revenue systems have not kept up as technology has changed the marketplace. Costs of government programs keep rising, particularly health care, while inflation erodes excise tax revenue. States must face these emerging pressures as they continue to recover from the Great Recession. To keep a functioning government, legislators will need to make difficult tradeoffs between revenue increases and spending cuts. This brief examines the history and outlook of state revenues and expenditures with particular attention to the effects of the last recession on state fiscal policy.
Research Areas Social safety net Taxes and budgets State and local finance
Tags State programs, budgets State and local tax issues
Policy Centers Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center