States' Real Liabilities
Publication This week, Veronique de Rugy examines the condition of states’ pension funds. While official reports claim that in 2008 state pensions were underfunded by $452 billion, with total...
View ArticleTotal State Expenditures by Funding Source
Publication The money that a state spends can come from four broad categories: 1. The state’s general fund, which comes from tax revenue that is not earmarked for a particular purpose but can go to...
View ArticleAggregate State Spending During the Recession
Publication Mercatus Center Research Fellow Matthew Mitchell breaks down the flux in state spending since the start of the recession. The above chart plots state spending from 2008 to 2010, broken...
View ArticleGovernment-Financed Employment and the Real Private Sector in the 50 States
Publication Federal Contract-Funded Private-Sector Jobs as a Percentage of Total Jobs In 2012, public-sector employment made up more than 16 percent of the US labor market. Direct government...
View ArticleMore Sales Tax Exemptions, Higher Sales Tax Rates
Publication State and local governments often increase sales taxes to generate additional revenue; however, projections of added revenue tend to be over-optimistic, in part because sales tax...
View Article40 Years of Certificate-of-Need Laws Across America
Publication Currently, 36 states and the District of Columbia prohibit entry or expansion of healthcare facilities through “certificate-of-need” (CON) programs. These laws, which require government...
View ArticleBreaking Down Department of Defense Grants to State and Local Law Enforcement
Publication Recent high-profile allegations of police misconduct coincide with a growing consensus spanning the right and left that police militarization is an increasingly serious problem in America....
View ArticleHow State CON Laws Restrict Access to Health Care
Publication Certificate of Need (CON) laws in 36 states and the District of Columbia currently prohibit entry or expansion of health care facilities. They prohibit health care providers from entering...
View ArticleTwo Models of Federalism Highlight Growing Divide Among States
Publication Increasingly, states are deeply divided on central questions of national politics and policy. The divide is often viewed as a lamentable and perhaps dangerous form of political...
View ArticleGrowth in State Medicaid Spending Crowding Out Spending on Other Major State...
Publication According to recent research, expanding state Medicaid spending is “crowding out” spending on other major state programs, most notably education and transportation infrastructure. This...
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