Here are some of the problematic aspects of the piece:“State and local governments spent or invested $2.33 trillion in 2019.” That statement is false. State governments may face a revenue decline of perhaps 10 percent, on average, but most local governments likely face little decline. The article focuses on the most exaggerated estimate of state budget gaps, which is the Moody’s two‐​year figure of $500 billion. The authoritative source of state budget data, NASBO, reports data on an annual basis. An alternative way to report budget gaps is to compare expected 2020 and 2021 revenues to actual peak 2019 revenues.

Source: Wall Street Journal August 16, 2020 03:45 UTC