California and New York Risk Budget Cuts When Pandemic Aid Ends, Report Says
- Largest states represent a quarter of the US population
- States that have cut taxes dramatically could face pressure
Five other states face “moderate” risk because they allocated funds to operations that may decrease as Covid-19 wanes.
Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg
Twelve states in the US, including some of the country’s largest economies, are at risk of cutting or scaling back programs in essential areas like education and public safety when the federal government’s historic stimulus package expires in 2026.
California, New York, and Pennsylvania, alongside nine others, used federal stimulus money to cover recurring costs that totaled 2.5% or more of their general fund expenditures in fiscal 2022. They could face budgetary gaps because of that spending, forcing government leaders to rethink certain programs and jobs, according to an analysis of disclosure filings as of July 2022 released Tuesday by The Volcker Alliance, a nonprofit research group.