Archives: Thomas Savidge / Articles
Archives: Thomas Savidge / Articles (page 3)
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ALEC Stands for Government Financial Transparency
This week is Sunshine Week, celebrating the access to public information and what it means for you and your community. To stay accountable to taxpayers, state and local governments…
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States: New Year, Same Debt Policy
Recently, state governments have taken advantage of low interest rates and issuing bonds to cover revenue losses from 2020. In doing so, states are adding to their tab of…
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Reform Can Be a Lifeline for Public Pensions Hoping to ‘Tread Water’
This article was originally featured as the cover story for Tax Notes magazine in their October 12, 2020 edition. Retirement savings took a major hit in the early…
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Illinois Residents Do Not Trust Springfield to Manage Their Money
Caught up in all the excitement of Election Day, the residents of Illinois soundly rejected the progressive income tax amendment 55% to 45%. Despite Governor Pritzker spending $58…
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New Jersey Digs the Fiscal Hole Deeper
Governor Phil Murphy recently signed New Jersey’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget. Rather than tightening the belt and reining in debt and spending, the Garden State implemented a massive tax…
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California’s Missing Financial Report
Each year, every state is required to issue a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) which is a snapshot of state financial health for a given fiscal year. Most states (with…
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Proposed DOL Rule Could Be a Model for Public Pensions
Last week, ALEC submitted a comment to the Department of Labor (DOL) in support of a proposed regulation regarding fiduciary duties in private pensions under the Employee Retirement Income…
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The Impact of Medicaid Expansion on State Budgets
Many states that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or “Obamacare,” have experienced unforeseen cost increases due to unexpected enrollment increases, as well as higher per person…
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Lockdowns Accelerate Fiscal Crisis in Illinois
In a recent article from The Wall Street Journal, Doug Cameron discussed how the stringent pandemic lockdown in Illinois has shifted consumer spending in the Quad Cities region across…
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Unaccountable and Unaffordable 2019: A Snapshot of Pension Liabilities Before COVID-19
Like much of the economy, COVID-19 hit public pension investments like a wrecking ball. Early reports from Moody’s estimated that state public pension plans lost nearly $1 trillion in…
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OPEB: The Trillion-Dollar Acronym
This article originally appeared in the March 23, 2020 edition of Tax Notes State. Upon hearing the term “OPEB,” most people look bewildered, not knowing that OPEB, short for…
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In Illinois, Reckless Fiscal Policy Colliding with COVID-19
COVID-19 has affected every aspect of American life, and state and municipal governments are no exception. States that have large amounts of unfunded liabilities and debt, like Illinois,…
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ALEC Reagan Ranch Academy Brings Together Legislators and Great Ideas
From November 19th to 21st, ALEC hosted the Reagan Ranch Tax and Fiscal Policy Academy in sunny Santa Barbara, California. The three-day academy brought nearly 50 attendees representing 13 states…
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Lessons from Puerto Rico’s Struggles with Debt and Unfunded Pension Liabilities
In a recent press release from the congressionally-appointed Financial Oversight & Management Board (FOMB) for Puerto Rico, the board announced that it filed its Plan of Adjustment to restructure…
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Denying Pension Realities?
A recent paper published by the Brookings Institution claims that “there is no imminent ‘crisis’ for most pension plans.” At the risk of sounding like a naysayer, this conclusion…
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Great Success at the Great Lakes Policy Academy
From August 6th – 8th, ALEC hosted the Great Lakes Regional Tax and Fiscal Policy Academy at Northwood University in Midland, Michigan. This three-day event brought together 20 state legislators…
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ALEC Southeastern Tax Academy a Big Success
The Center for State Fiscal Reform hosted its latest regional ALEC Academy in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. ALEC was glad to bring the good news of tax reform and pro-growth…
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Senate Budget Committee Looks to the States for Guidance on Responsible Budgeting
States like Wyoming regularly pass balanced budgets and hold their lawmakers accountable for excessive spending—it is great to see the Senate Budget Committee taking the lead to discuss needed budget reforms. Taking lessons from our laboratories of democracy is exactly the right place to start.
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A Spark of Hope for New Jersey’s Growing Debt Problem
So long as there are those willing to have “hard and honest conversations” about unfunded liabilities, there is hope for reform.