The end of the fiscal year for most U.S. states has passed after a period of healthy growth and public spending.
However, as COVID-19 relief funding winds down amid other financial uncertainty, many states will now be forced to cut their budgets in 2025. The National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) recently published “ Overview – Spring 2024 .” The report collates data from all 50 U.
S. states, three territories, and the District of Columbia. It factors in all the past year’s revenue, general fund spending, rainy day funds, and state year-end balances.
Spending Growth Set to End “Aggregate annual general fund spending growth in recent years has been considerably affected by significant fluctuations in several large states, writes NASBO staff contact Kathryn White. She believes some of the spending growth is down to “several large states” committing to one-off expenditures. While general fund spending will grow 14.
4% in 2024, the same can’t be said of the new year. Some Americans can expect rougher seas in 2025, as total spending will fall by 6.2% or $1.
22 trillion. A Post-Pandemic Economy Liz Farmer of Pew Charitable Trusts writes that the “post-pandemic era of surging revenue, record spending, and historic tax cuts” is coming to an end. America is now officially in a post-pandemic economy, set to inherit a more austere outlook, at least for a while.
To others, this situation may seem illogical. The last fiscal year’s state revenues topped $1.