Tag: coronavirus

Our coronavirus pandemic-triggered fiscal problems call for an unconventional solution. By The Boston Globe Editorial Board, June 10, 2020 Massachusetts will soon face a budgetary reckoning because of a huge revenue shortfall caused by the pandemic-prompted economic slowdown. The conventional remedy to periodic budget crises caused by a soft economy — substantial spending cuts on state services like health care, state parks, and public higher education; income or sales tax increases; or a combination of the two — are unwise in this instance, and could even prolong the economic misery. Absent sufficient federal aid, the better solution is to borrow over several years to pave the way through the pandemic rough patch. Like many states, Massachusetts has legal constraints against rolling a deficit from one fiscal year into the next. Policy makers can temporize to some degree, but ultimately a solution must be found. The best way forward, obviously, would be an infusion of federal dollars: Unlike states, Washington can run deficits as big as it...