Value Added: State Budget Crises Part Deux: With a Vengeance
A new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities outlines new gaps in states' 2010 budgets, estimates the size of the shortfall in 2011, and considers the potential effects of additional federal assistance and continued stagnation in the nation's labor markets.
Heading into fiscal year 2010, which began on July 1, 2009, 48 states faced budget shortfalls that had to be addressed through a combination of spending cuts and tax increases (Montana and North Dakota are the exceptions; Vermont is the only state in the Union that does not have a balanced budget requirement). Now, about five months into FY2010, new gaps have opened up in 26 states, totalling $15.8 billion or 4.0% of those states' aggregate budgets. Leading the way is New York, with a brand-new $3.0 billion shortfall (5.4% of the state's total budget), while Arizona's $1.5 billion gap represents a whopping 15.4% of its total budget...
