Some states love debt, and spend themselves into oblivion just for votes and deceitful frauds such as bullet trains (Cali comes to mind.)
Other states have as their charter to live within their means, and carry little or no debt (Idaho, for one)
If lavish spending Cali declared bankruptcy, why should frugal and responsible Idaho underwrite Cali's dissolute luxuries and debt?
I agree. Let the states balance their budgets like everyone else. What better way to assess the need for handouts, when giveaways require a trade-off. Public employee pay, at least in California, is way above private sector pay for the same work, and the state demands contractors pay top dollar for all public work. Of course the legislators are beholden to unions, so this is what happens. I have no problem with high pensions if the payout was annuitized by the retirees. Of course California legislators and the governor will assert the coronavirus is the cause of their budget problem, but the problem began long before the disease. How anxious would the state be to open the economy, if to do otherwise would require hard budget decisions, just like the citizens affected by their draconian restrictions? So, no bankruptcy or bailouts for the states.
And I agree, let only those that pay taxes, vote for the largess. I won’t be holding my breath for that.
How would a state’s bankruptcy affect other states?