By Michael S. Derby, includes “The Chicago Fed said that Ms. Pramaggiore stepped down from her position on Oct. 25. The resignation wasn’t made public by the Chicago Fed until it was confirmed by a bank spokesperson in response to a question from The Wall Street Journal. … ”
By Matt Welch, includes “… If the New York example plays out nationwide—and keep in mind, the 2020–21 K-12 decline happened absolutely everywhere—then the impact on public education, local and state governance, and politics itself could be profound. About one out of every five state-government dollars is spent on primary and secondary education. …”
By Martin Braun, includes “Blockbuster stock market gains are allowing U.S. public pensions to lower their assumed investment return and the chance that taxpayers have to make up any shortfalls."
By E.J. McMahon, includes “… To be sure, even at 5.9 percent, the RoR that the pension fund literally counts on to pay constitutionally guaranteed benefits will remain considerably higher than the yields from commensurate low-risk U.S. Treasury or high-quality corporate bonds..."
By Eric Berman, includes “Indiana finished the fiscal year two weeks ago with a nearly four-billion-dollar surplus. A law championed by then-Governor Mitch Daniels caps the state surplus at one-eighth of spending. If the state ends a two-year budget with more than that, half the extra money goes back to you.”
Includes “… So, what about Illinois, which entered the pandemic in crisis? … Remarkably, thanks to that one-time cash infusion, Illinois has a balanced budget, and all three major credit agencies have recently issued positive outlooks.”
By James Bovard, includes “There are no fact-checkers for victory laps. … Because Cuomo’s spiel sought to rewrite history to exonerate politicians who ravaged Americans’ rights and liberties, it requires a rebuttal. … In reality, Cuomo’s speech relied on what Hegel called ‘the truth which lies in power.’ …”
By John Laidler, includes “Read two views and vote in our online poll.”
By Sean Dickens, includes “The state of Wyoming has become the first in the US to approve and legally recognise a Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO). … The mission of the American CryptoFed DAO is to create and sustain a monetary system with zero inflation, zero deflation and zero transaction costs.”
By Arleen Jacobius, includes “CalPERS' board is expected to decide in September whether to remove alternative investments from its tracking-error calculation used to control risk. Deciding to do so would make sense, consultants say. When it comes to alternative investments, tracking error doesn't work because these asset classes lack an investible benchmark. … For private assets, tracking error limits can limit investment in assets that ‘don't look like the benchmark,’ reducing the value of investing in alternative investments, Mr. Delaney said.”
By Jordan Williams, includes “… The statement faulted the budgetary proposal for not reflecting Democratic input, and said it ‘retaliates against teachers and voters because of the 2020 presidential election.’ … The budget includes tax cuts that Democrats have said will help special interests. Democrats had also worried about the budget's effects on education and schools.”
By Roger Russell, includes “Florida, one of the last two holdout states to enact economic nexus legislation in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision on taxing online sales, has finally passed a bill that applies sales tax collection requirements to remote sellers and marketplace facilitators.”
By Mary Ellen Klas, Kirby Wilson and Lawrence Mower, includes “After a decade of honing their skills as budget cutters, Florida’s Republican legislative leaders are having a hard time deciding how to spend.”
By Tom Davidson, includes “Forty-four Pittsburgh residents have petitioned for a hearing before City Council to ask for a local resolution to support a movement that calls for reduced defense spending."
Letter to the editor by Terry Takash, includes “After putting overpriced city gas in my car, to drive downtown to pay my overpriced property tax bill and overpay for metered parking in the Loop, and maybe get a ticket on the way for driving 6pph over the limit, is there a ‘bulk rate’ to cover all overpayments?”
By Tom Wilson, Anna Irrera and Jessica DiNapoli (Reuters), includes “The FASB has no immediate plans to review its treatment of bitcoin as the issue affects few of its constituents, according to a source familiar with the matter. ”
Includes “Alderman Thompson serves on the Committee on Finance, Committee on Public Safety, Committee on Budget and Government Operations, Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight, Committee on transportation and Public Way, Committee on Workforce Development and on the Committee on Committees, Rules and Ethics.”
Editorial, includes “… You can’t blame state and local politicians for trying to bolster their finances without raising taxes on their constituents — particularly in places like Illinois, which has grossly mismanaged its fiscal affairs for so long. Pritzker said this week he won’t include an income tax hike in his spending plan for next year. But Congress shouldn’t ship to the states more money until it has a clearer picture of the actual impact of the pandemic.”
By Alix Olliver, includes “Last month, California Superior Court Judge Richard Strauss ruled San Diego’s 2012 pension reform effort, Proposition B should be invalidated. Nearly a decade ago, San Diego voters approved Proposition B as a way to help the city’s struggling finances by replacing San Diego’s public pension plan with a defined-contribution retirement plan …”
Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) reintroduced an amendment to the United States Constitution that would require the federal government to balance its budget each year.