Economic Shocks Should Signal Spending Restraint from Lawmakers

03/25/2020
With tens of thousands of Louisianans now out of a job due to effects of the spread of COVID-19, household budgets are being reviewed and adjusted to ensure families stay afloat during this uncertain period. But while individuals and families across Louisiana are facing the largest and most immediate financial impacts of this crisis, the...

TAGS: balanced budget, Budget, Budget crisis, Government Spending, State Spending

State Budget Crises: Where to Go from Here

By Fergus Hodgson
09/27/2010
Spending beyond inflation and population growth accounts for budget gaps By Daniel M. Rothschild It didn’t have to be this way, with states slashing budgets, cutting services, hiking taxes and fees, all while peering into the crevasse of fiscal meltdown. That’s the conclusion of a new paper by Matthew Mitchell, an economist at the Mercatus...

TAGS: Daniel Rothschild, Mercatus Center, State Spending

Deficits Provide Opportunity to Weed Out Failing Programs

By Jennifer Moreale
03/23/2010
Despite Gov. Jindal’s spending cut in late December, Jan Moller reports in the Times Picayune on a possible “mid-year budget deficit that could be as high as $400 million.” According to the state Department of Revenue, lower income and sales tax revenues are to blame. In February, the state collected $209 million but paid $230...

TAGS: Bobby Jindal, Cato Institute, Chris Edwards, Deficit, Free Market, Jan Moller, State Spending