Pandemic Wreaking Havoc on State, Local Government
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAs the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take an economic toll on businesses of all shapes and sizes, the impact on local and state government is no less severe. A recent study from Ball State University suggests state and local governments are facing tax revenue losses ranging from $240 million to as high as $700 million, adding the Indiana economy might not fully recover before 2022, or longer.
“There are 20 to 30 counties that are facing perhaps double digit revenue losses, some extraordinarily high, through 2022 and even into 2023,” said Mike Hicks, director of Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research.
Hicks talked about the pandemic’s impact on state and local government and what the Indiana economy may look like in the second half of 2020 on this weekend’s edition of Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick.
Hicks says certain counties may be more susceptible to economic pain, including those that depend heavily on casino revenues or are dominated by hospitality, retail and restaurants, which have all been pummeled by the pandemic.
On the positive side, Hicks says Indiana’s fiscal health heading into the pandemic, including a $2.4 billion rainy day fund, should help the state weather the storm better than others. “The state of our fiscal health going into the COVID is going to make us a lot better off than other states that don’t have a rainy day fund or have big unfunded liabilities on the revenue side.”