Conservative groups fight federal aid to troubled states
The head of the National Governor's Association sounded the alarm this week about the catastrophic economic conditions states are facing today:
But a vocal minority of conservatives -- led by South Carolina governor Mark Sanford (R) -- are fighting the idea of federal help for the states. The conservative American Legislative Exchange Council -- chaired by Speaker Bill Howell of Virginia -- has joined 60 other right-leaning groups in writing a letter to Congress opposing a "bailout of the states."
The letter doesn't explain how states are supposed to make up the gap, however. The only suggestion is that Congress should, in the words of Gov. Sanford, give "states like mine more in the way of flexibility and freedom from federal mandates."
But in the same letter, ALEC and the other Republican-leaning groups estimate that such federal mandates cost states only about $32 billion a year -- a high estimate, and still far short of the $100 billion a year hole states face.
You can read the complete "Fiscal Survey of the States" here [pdf]
States face their worst fiscal challenge in25 years as the national recession could punch a $200 billion hole instate budgets over the next two years [...]Who will suffer? Children and the elderly depending on Medicaid will be one of the biggest victims. A report from Families USA found that 3,700 aged and disabled people in South Carolina will lose coverage due to a cost-saving measure introduced by the state this year. Tennessee might impose a new application procedure that would drop 90,000 people from its program.
For the first time in 25 years, states expect to see adecrease in spending in the current fiscal 2009 budget cycle [...]Thirty-onestates will have to close nearly $30 billion in deficits from theircurrent budgets before they even begin drafting new fiscal plans forthe coming year, Five additional states also reported shortfalls, butdidn't include figures."Asbad as the situation is for states right now, all indications are thatthe fiscal conditions for states will continue to deteriorate," NASBOExecutive Director Scott Pattison said.
But a vocal minority of conservatives -- led by South Carolina governor Mark Sanford (R) -- are fighting the idea of federal help for the states. The conservative American Legislative Exchange Council -- chaired by Speaker Bill Howell of Virginia -- has joined 60 other right-leaning groups in writing a letter to Congress opposing a "bailout of the states."
The letter doesn't explain how states are supposed to make up the gap, however. The only suggestion is that Congress should, in the words of Gov. Sanford, give "states like mine more in the way of flexibility and freedom from federal mandates."
But in the same letter, ALEC and the other Republican-leaning groups estimate that such federal mandates cost states only about $32 billion a year -- a high estimate, and still far short of the $100 billion a year hole states face.
You can read the complete "Fiscal Survey of the States" here [pdf]
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Chris Kromm
Chris Kromm is executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies and publisher of the Institute's online magazine, Facing South.