Posted on 08/06/2020 2:09:27 PM PDT by karpov
State and local governments want more funds from the federal government to patch their budgets. Lack of revenue due to the recession and self-inflicted damage from the COVID-19 shutdowns of their economies, as well as larger-than-ever expenditures on top their regular overextended budgets, mean that many of them are hurting for cash. And while they're asking for $500 billion in bailout cash, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi wants to give them $1 trillion. I, on the other hand, think it's about time state and local governments start fending for themselves.
As I've explained before, there are many reasons to oppose state and local government bailouts. For starters, these jurisdictions have already received large amounts of federal funds to pay for their coronavirus-related expenditures. As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and other relief measures, they've received $280 billion for various coronavirus-related expenses and another $150 billion for more flexible needs. The Federal Reserve has also set up a $500 billion program to facilitate short-term borrowing by state and local governments.
That's on top of the annual handout that the federal government gives to state and local governments. In fiscal year 2020, they received an estimated $790.7 billion in the form of 181 grants to pay for various expenses. In other words, 30 percent of their budgets comes from the federal government annually, which is an amount that has increased 27 percent since 2015.
Then there's the issue of poor planning on the part of many states. My Mercatus Center colleague Tad DeHaven and I have written about this issue. We highlight the moral hazard that comes from systematically bailing out institutions, whether they are state and local governments or private companies.
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
ZERO aid to them.... ZERO.
They already get too much federal money.
THEY are responsible for no tax revenue.
No tax money FROM the state, no tax money TO the state.
Compounded interest just stopped breathing.
Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima GFY Culpa.
They all need to be pushed into bankruptcy so the outrageous union salaries and pensions can be renegotiated and ended. Unions in government lead to highway robbery oof taxpayers and fo back to being illegal.
We should have cut them off back when it was clear they were just using the lockdown as a political stunt, months ago.
Notice how they attempt to blame "The Virus" for the misery, death and destruction their deliberate actions -- which continue to this day -- are causing.
Eliminate the property tax instead.
A nice dream. But it’ll never happen. Democrat pols will always be insulated from their incompetence.
It is unfair to raise taxes on responsible states to bailout the irresponsible.
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