The National Association of State Budget OfficersPension Funding: A Guide for Elected Officials
Pension Funding Task Force 2013
Publication date:
April 2013
Pension Funding Task Force 2013
policy
policy
State and Local Government Spending on Public Employee Retirement Systems
National Association of State Retirement Administrators
Publication date:
February 2012
National Association of State Retirement Administrators
A State Budgeting Perspective on Public Pensions
State and local pension systems have received significant attention in the last few years. Changes to state pension systems have been taking place in response to the increased attention and concerns. This brief examines a number of pension issues from a budgetary perspective. A budgetary perspective considers long term pension funding adequacy, and the financial cost of promised benefits in relation to the rest of current state spending.
Municipal Bonds in 2011: An Update on State and Local Borrowing
The state and local government bond markets have held up well throughout the year despite a few high profile municipal defaults or bankruptcies by local governments. The forecasts from some commentators in 2010 and earlier this year predicting a municipal bond crisis have not come to fruition, and a collapse of the municipal debt markets is not likely to arise anytime soon. Certainly states and localities will continue to encounter fiscal strain, but potential defaults or bankruptcies are so few and far between that they are the “exceptions” that prove the “rule”.
Municipal Securities Overview of Market Structure, Pricing, and Regulation
Government Accountability Office
Publication date:
January 2012
Government Accountability Office
The Return on Investment of a Medicaid Tobacco Cessation Program in Massachusetts
George Washington University
Publication date:
January 2012
George Washington University
Congress Reach Agreement on Two Month Payroll Tax Cut Extension
December 12, 2011
Economic News October 17, 2011
October 17, 2011
Retail Sales Rise Noticeably in September
On October 14, the Census Bureau announced that retail and food services sales for September were $395.5 billion, an increase of 1.1 percent from August and 7.9 percent above September 2010. Total sales for the July through September 2011 period were up 8.0 percent from the same period a year ago. Additionally, the July to August 2011 percent change was revised from upward from no change to 0.3 percent increase.
Link: News Release
Recently Released Reports
October 17, 2011
Refocusing Responsibility For Dual Eligibles: Why Medicare Should Take The Lead, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration, The Annie E. Casey Foundation
In a Down Economy, Fewer Births, Pew Research Center
House Committee Approves Postal Service Overhaul
October 17, 2011
On October 13, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted 22-18, to advance a bill to overhaul the United States Postal Service (USPS), HR 2309. The measure would establish an oversight board to pursue millions of dollars in cost reductions and create a new advisory body to make financial recommendations should the agency default for more than 30 days. Additionally, if the Postal Service, after two years, still has a budget deficit of more than $2 billion, power over the agency would be transferred to the advisory panel.