The Capitol Pressroom for July 18, 2012

 

Richard Ravitch…EJ McMahon w/analysis…Bill Mahoney w/campaign filings

“State finances are not transparent and often include hidden liabilities as well as rapidly growing responsibilities which are difficult to control”.  That’s the headline from the State Budget Crisis Task Force which studied the finances of 6 states, including New York, and is co-chaired by former Lt. Governor Richard Ravitch and former Fed Chairman Paul Volker.  The report was unveiled at the Newseum on Tuesday.  Today we discuss some of the findings with Richard Ravitch. 

Directly following Ravitch, we will hear analysis from EJ McMahon of the Empire Center for NYS Policy. 

Bill Mahoney of the New York Public Interest Research Group will have the latest campaign filing numbers. 
While state revenues are gradually recovering from the drastic decline of the Great Recession, they are not growing sufficiently to keep pace with the spending required by Medicaid costs, pensions, and other responsibilities and obligations.  This has resulted in persistent and growing structural deficits in many states which threaten their fiscal sustainability.
Major fiscal threats include:
•      Medicaid Spending Growth
•      Underfunded Retirement Promises
•      Eroding, Narrow, and Volatile Tax Bases
•      Impact of Federal Deficit Reduction
•      Local Government Fiscal Stress
In addition, budget gimmicks and inadequate reporting mask and encourage fiscal problems, and make them more difficult to solve. While none of our states is on the brink of financial collapse, these threats loom large.
View the Full Report or the Summarized Report of the State Budget Crisis Task Force.