Title: Why We Still Can’t Afford to Fix America’s Broken Infrastructure | FiveThirtyEight
Headings: Why We Still Can’t Afford to Fix America’s Broken Infrastructure
Why We Still Can’t Afford to Fix America’s Broken Infrastructure
Content: As of April 2014, more than 90 percent of the $267 billion spent by the public sector (at a seasonally adjusted annual rate) was at the state and local levels, according to the latest Census Bureau report on construction spending. State government spending has grown over the the last few years as fiscal balances have improved. 5
Nominal (not inflation-adjusted) state government spending nationwide rose 4.3 percent in fiscal year 2013, and Pew projects it will rise another 3.8 percent in fiscal year 2014. For the first time in five years, no state is expected to run negative balances in both its general and rainy day funds, according to the latest Pew Charitable Trusts Fiscal 50 report. 6
Specifically, the report notes that “no state in fiscal 2013 expected its combination of rainy day reserves and general fund balances to drop below zero.” The report was released in April, with data through fiscal year 2013 (which is preliminary and could be revised) and using appropriations for fiscal year 2014. So why aren’t states pulling the trigger on big capital projects? First, states are continuing to struggle with the legacy of the financial crisis, paying down debt they acquired during the boom years. And second, many state transportation projects are in limbo as the federal government’s Highway Trust Fund is expected to run out of money in August, unless Congress replenishes it. State and local governments remain heavily indebted.