Necessity is the narrative that austerity dictates. Or, so the story goes. Despite improving economic fortunes, in states across the country the cry for further budget cuts is ringing out.
At least 16 states are projected to run budget shortfalls in the next year or two, according to an informal count maintained by State Budget Solutions, a watchdog group. Those gaps range from lows of $17 million in Vermont and $34 million in Rhode Island to $4 billion in Washington State over the next two years and $2.2 billion in Wisconsin next year alone.
In their
latest report State Budget Solutions counts nearly $21 billion in state budget shortfalls. From this, they have drawn up a list of
budget savings strategies for states: rejecting Medicare expansion, raiding state workers pensions, and privatization.
The mantra is simple: There is no alternative. Necessity dictates further austerity. But ... what if real alternatives, really exist? What if necessity is only a narrative?
Sure, you say, but show me the money.
Dollar, dollar bill y'all.
I don't need to lay out the scale, and scope, of economic inequality in this country. After Occupy, we all know the numbers. That said, the extent to which perverse narratives have been allowed to foster elsewhere is remarkable. The state of taxation in the states is such, that we can't even talk about proportional, or flat, taxes. We have to talk about regressive taxes. As the latest "Who Pays?" report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows, the top 1% of Americans pay state and local taxes at less than half the rate of the poorest 20%.
If you click on the link above, you can get detailed breakouts for each of the states.
Building upon this Good Jobs First released report on the economic impact that regressive taxation has on state budgets. The economic impact of raising rates on the top 20% to match those levied on the bottom 20%, would be enormous, totaling more than $200 billion in new funds for state governments.
For many years, we've been told that the vicious state funding cuts to higher education can not be rescinded, because there simply isn't the money to make it happen. Lies.
That defined benefit pension plans for public servants must be replaced with defined contribution plans, allowing Wall Street to take their cut in management fees. Lies.
There are real alternatives. Simply by asking the rich to bear the same share of state and local taxes could solve many, if not most, of the funding issues facing states today. If we ever hope to win this fight,then we have to discredit the narrative that necessity dictates austerity. And, that means making sure that we get the facts out there.