BEYOND THE NUMBERS
Adding Up Five Years of State Higher Ed Cuts
State cuts to higher education funding in the last five years have been severe and almost universal, as we explain in a new paper. After adjusting for inflation:
- States are spending $2,353 or 28 percent less per student on higher education, nationwide, in the current 2013 fiscal year than they did ...
State Tax Cuts Jeopardize Schools
Deep state tax cuts can be very, very bad for K-12 schools. That’s a key lesson of last week’s court ruling that found that Kansas is unconstitutionally underfunding its elementary and secondary schools even as it slams through one of the nation’s largest-ever state tax cuts. And it’s a lesson that...
Out-of-State Companies Win, Local Services Lose Under Florida Tax Cut
We recently explained that Amendment 4, a package of harmful property tax changes on Florida’s November ballot, would send millions of dollars in property tax breaks out of state instead of using that money locally to pay for police and fire protection, road maintenance, and other public services.
Indeed, some of...
Double Trouble in Florida
As we note in recent analyses, Florida’s November ballot will contain two measures, Amendment 3 and Amendment 4, each of which would severely squeeze funding for local services like schools, roads, and fire and police protection. Their combined...
Don’t Forget State Taxes
Recent debates over who pays federal income taxes often ignore the fact that many people who don’t pay federal income taxes do pay lots of other federal taxes as well as state and local taxes.
Here’s one example: while the federal government has largely exempted working-poor families from income taxes since the mid-1980s, 
our analysis
...
Schools Face Another Tough Budget Year
States have cut education funding deeply since the start of the recession and, in many states, those cuts deepened over the last year. Per-pupil school funding in 35 states now stands below 2008 levels — often far below — our updated analysis shows (see chart).
...
Slow Recovery Creates Continued State Budget Shortfalls
July 1 marks the start of the new fiscal year for most states. For 31 of them, it will start yet another year of budget gaps as states face a combined shortfall of $55 billion, according to our new report.
That’s a big improvement over where state...
State Budgets: Improving, But a Long Recovery Ahead
States still face a long and uncertain recovery, according to our newly updated survey of state budget shortfalls.
Major fiscal challenges persist. Thirty states have projected (and in many cases have already closed) budget gaps totaling $54 billion for fiscal year 2013, which begins July...