Information
Biography
Thurston Powers is the Research Manager with the Center for State Fiscal Reform at ALEC where he researches and analyzes state tax, budget, and pension policies. Thurston worked on these areas previously at the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, a state-based think tank headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. As both a Connecticut native and policy analyst, Thurston has seen firsthand what poor tax and budget policies can do to even the wealthiest states.
In May 2017, Thurston received his Master’s in Public Administration in Public & Nonprofit Management & Policy with a focus in policy analysis from NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
Thurston enjoys discussing tax and debt finance policy over coffee, reading while drinking coffee, listening to audiobooks on long drives while drinking coffee and coffee.
Authored Articles
Authored Publications
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Unaccountable and Unaffordable 2018
Unfunded liabilities in public pension plans continue to loom over state governments nationwide. If net pension assets are determined using more realistic investment return assumptions, pension funding gaps are significantly…
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State Bonded Obligations, 2018
States issue a diverse array of bonded obligations, with a range of obligation strength, revenue sources, debt service schedules, and other factors. This study collects and analyzes the bonded obligations…
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State of the States: An Analysis of the 2018 Governors’ Addresses
The latest entry of the State of the States publication breaks down each governor’s “state of the state” address and identifies strong and weak policy prescriptions within. The publications also explore each states…
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Other Post-Employment Benefit Liabilities, 2017
Other Post-Employment Benefit Liabilities, 2017 surveys the more than 100 state-administered post-employment benefit plans, such as health insurance, Medicare advantage, life insurance, and other non-pension benefits. Controlling for differences in…
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State Tax Cut Roundup 2017
The 2017 legislative session ended with nine states enacting changes to their tax codes sufficient to qualify for State Tax Cut Roundup. Each state provided substantial tax relief for their…
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Unaccountable, Unaffordable 2017
Unaffordable and Unaccountable 2017 surveys the more than 280 state-administered public pension plans, detailing their assets and liabilities. The unfunded liabilities (the amount by which the present value of liabilities…