ATLANTA, GA, April 30, 2020 /Neptune100/ — Allen Buckley, a fiscal conservative independent candidate in the special election race for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Kelly Loeffler, says the federal government should not bail out state and local governments.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act granted $150 billion to state and local governments, to help deal with the coronavirus. State and local governments are asking for more. The National Association of Governors has asked for $500 billion more. Many states have significantly underfunded retirement plans. Mitch McConnell has suggested the bankruptcy laws be amended to allow states to file for bankruptcy. Many investment professionals have said that states filing for bankruptcy would cause bond markets to reel.
On April 27, 2020, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Georgia has a significant rainy day fund, much to the credit of former Governor Nathan Deal. Dan White, director of the government policy and fiscal research at Moody’s Analytics, was quoted as saying: “The encouraging thing is states have never been better prepared for a recession.”
Federal debt is now approximately $25 trillion. By year-end, it will likely exceed $27 trillion. Annual federal revenue has never exceeded $3.5 trillion. Deficits have been run since the turn of the century. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently reported that the public debt-to-equity ratio is expected to hit 101 percent by the end of 2020, and 108 percent by the end of 2021.
Buckley said: “The federal government should not bail out state and local government with respect to the coronavirus or for any other matter. Where would it end? The states have the power to tax and the power to amend their laws and constitutions. The separation of powers has been partially built on significant financial separation. There already is a melding of the Federal Reserve Bank with the federal government, in that the Federal Reserve Bank is and has been setting rates that allow and allowed the Congresses and administrations to be financially irresponsible. I think that is bad.”
Mr. Buckley’s “Save Tomorrow” campaign is about living for today and tomorrow, instead of living for today to the detriment of tomorrow. The focus is on doing things to make tomorrow as good as or even better than today, by acting now to address the nation’s financial challenges and confronting global warming in a practical way.
Mr. Buckley is an attorney/CPA. He can be reached for comment at (404) 610-1936. Mr. Buckley’s campaign website is www.buckleyforsenate.org.
