As The Hill reported, and as Joshua noted yesterday, the Obama administration will send Detroit $320 million in federal dollars in emergency funds. The funds will be used to demolish properties, hire police and firemen, install security cameras on buses, and…

Detroit’s move to file for bankruptcy on July 18 is not a surprise. The city’s ongoing economic and fiscal problems are well-known. Two years ago, Mayor David Bing warned that without structural reforms to benefits, budget cuts, and other measures,…

Much has been said about the trouble with public-sector pensions. Many state and local plans are underfunded and, unless policy and accounting changes are undertaken, some major plans will run out of assets to pay benefits over the coming years….

I have a piece running at U.S. News and World Report that asks if Hollywood really needs the tax credits that states are all too eager to give to film companies. And more importantly, do states get much in return?…

Illinois has the distinction of having the worst-funded pension plan in America. In addition to a massive funding shortfall, the state also has the lowest credit rating and owes “$10 billion in backlogged payments to vendors, schools, hospitals and charities”. Pension plan payments make…

Early Monday morning Cyprus’ leaders reached a deal with the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Cypriot bank accounts exceeding €100,000 will be taxed (at around or less than 30 percent). In exchange for the move, Cyprus will receive €10…

After the Cypriot Parliament struck down the EU-proposal to levy a tax on Cypriot bank depositors as part of a bank bailout deal, Cyprus’ finance minister moved to plan B: ask Russia for help. Russian investors have sunk significant amounts…

A taxi driver in Cyprus describes it as “a lightening bolt out of nowhere.” This weekend, the Mediterranean island nation announced that individual bank account deposits are in the crosshairs of an EU bailout plan. According to a deal negotiated…

One outcome of the Supreme Court’s June 2012 health care ruling is that the federal government cannot force states to expand Medicaid. And yet, as of last week, 24 states have volunteered to do so. What is driving some states…

It’s not too surprising that states often turn to “sin” taxes for more revenues, especially during downturns.  What’s worth noting is that legislators have become far more creative in stretching the defintion of “disfavored” goods from the traditional trio of…