That’s the meltdown of state and local government budgets produced by the higher costs of dealing with the crisis combined with the collapse of revenues. Since January, state and local governments have reduced payrolls by 1.1 million workers, or more than 5.5%. AdvertisementHouse Democrats in May passed the so-called Heroes Act, a $3-trillion pandemic relief bill that includes more than $900 billion for state and local governments. The GOP reaction to pleas for help from states and local governments has been nakedly partisan and plain ludicrous. AdvertisementAid for states and local governments would ripple through the economy, affecting even public entities not in line for direct assistance.

Source: Los Angeles Times September 23, 2020 13:02 UTC