Sustaining the States: The Fiscal Viability of American State Governments (ASPA Series in Public Administration and Public Policy)

State fiscal decisions have a significant impact on the US economy. Taken together, subnational governments employ more than one out of every eight workers and provide the bulk of all basic governmental services consumed by individuals and businesses. **Sustaining the States: The Fiscal Viability of American State Governments** will give you a basic understanding of trends in, current status of, and future prospects for the fiscal sustainability of state governments. After reading this book, you should have a great appreciation for the reach and multiple contributions of state governments to individuals and communities across the nation. The book examines the broad range and depth of state revenues, responsibilities, and activities. It begins with an assessment of executive budgeting in the states, then presents the experiences of states with strong executive-driven systems and the various rules and institutions that impact state government budget discipline. The book goes on to examine state revenue sources, debt, pensions, and spending, honing in on vital state functions including education, transportation, health services and public safety. It concludes with an assessment of the challenges that will test the fiscal vibrancy of US state governments going forward: vulnerability to future economic downturns, growing dependence on an increasingly austere federal government, the obsolescence of state tax systems and an ever more coercive system of federalism. Edited by experts, with a hand-picked panel of contributors, the book delineates the resources that states generate and use to conduct the business of government. The chapters outline the very real and significant constraints on the ability of the states to fulfill their responsibilities and introduce several challenges that state governments face and are actively addressing as they strive for fiscal sustainability. These features provide a clear, realistic understanding of state operations and financing in the United States, today. The book should also leave you with a sense of optimism for the capacity of state governments to advance forward. The United States Provides A Classic Example Of A Bottom-up System Of Federalism. It Was Created In 1787 When Representatives Of The Then 13 Colonies Convened To Ratify A Constitution Under Which Both The Central Government And The States Would Be Sovereign Entities. Within Certain Constitutional And Statutory Constraints, State Governments Thus (1) Develop And Execute Their Budgets Without Review And Modification By The Federal Government, (2) Determine Their Own Revenue Structures And Levels And Types Of Expenditures, And (3) Borrow And Manage Debt. The U.s. System Stands In Contrast With Nearly All Other Top-down Nation-states In Which The Established Central Government Constitutionally Or Legislatively Assigns Expenditure Responsibilities And Revenue Raising Authority To Subnational Units Of Government.* State Fiscal Decisions Have A Significant Impact On This Nation's Economy. Together, With Their More Than 90,000 Local Governments, States Account For Almost 12 Percent Of Gross Domestic Product (gdp) And 60 Percent Of All Government Expenditures.--preface. 1. Sustaining The States : An Introduction / Scott Pattison And Katherine G. Willoughby -- 2. Political Institutions For Sustainable State Budgets / Irene S. Rubin And Roy T. Meyers -- 3. Changing State Revenue Strategies / John L. Mikesell -- 4. State Tax Structures : Past Trends, Future Possibilities / David L. Sjoquist -- 5. State Competition For Debt Resources / Dwight V. Denison And Robert A. Greer -- 6. State Debt Management Challenges / Merl Hackbart And Dwight V. Denison -- 7. State Pension Plans In Crisis / Cynthia S. Searcy And William R. Darnell -- 8. The Future Of State Spending / Carolyn Bourdeaux -- 9. State Education Expenditures / Sean P. Corcoran, Sarah A. Cordes, And Amy Ellen Schwartz -- 10. State Health Care Expenditures / Shanna Rose -- 11. Future Issues In State Transportation Finance / John R. Bartle And Can Chen -- 12. Financing Criminal Justice In The States / Michael C. Walker -- 13. State Government Workforces Of The Future / Sally Coleman Selden -- 14. A Vision Of The Future Sustainability Of The States / Robert D. Ebel And Marilyn Marks Rubin. Edited By Marilyn Marks Rubin, Katherine G. Willoughby. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Preface The United States provides a classic example of a bottom-up system of federalism. It was created in 1787 when representatives of the then 13 colonies convened to ratify a constitution under which both the central government and the states would be sovereign entities. Within certain constitutional and statutory constraints, state governments thus (1) develop and execute their budgets without review and modification by the federal government, (2) determine their own revenue structures and levels and types of expenditures, and (3) borrow and manage debt. The U.S. system stands in contrast with nearly all other top-down nation-states in which the established central government constitutionally or legislatively assigns expenditure responsibilities and revenue raising authority to subnational units of government.* State fiscal decisions have a significant impact on this nation's economy. Together, with their more than 90,000 local governments, states account for almost 12 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 60 percent of all government expenditures. Front Cover 1 Contents 7 Preface 9 Editors 11 Contributors 13 Chapter 1: Sustaining the States: An Introduction 17 Chapter 2: Political Institutions for Sustainable State Budgets 29 Chapter 3: Changing State Revenue Strategies 45 Chapter 4: State Tax Structures: Past Trends, Future Possibilities 69 Chapter 5: State Competition for Debt Resources 101 Chapter 6: State Debt Management Challenges 117 Chapter 7: State Pension Plans in Crisis 135 Chapter 8: The Future of State Spending 151 Chapter 9: State Education Expenditures 187 Chapter 10: State Health Care Expenditures 213 Chapter 11: Future Issues in State Transportation Finance 227 Chapter 12: Financing Criminal Justice in the States 251 Chapter 13: State Government Workforces of the Future 273 Chapter 14: A Vision of the Future Sustainability of the States 303 Back Cover 315