State and Local Budgets

Lois Takahashi (USC Price Sacramento) moderates a discussion on how COVID-19 is impacting state and local budgets with Tracy Gordon (Urban Institute) and Carolyn Coleman (League of California Cities). Gordon outlines the nationwide declines in revenue are dramatic and could take up to 10 years for unemployment to fully recover. Coleman's focus on the local picture illustrates that across the board, cities of all sizes are coming up against a variety of shortfalls in revenue and likely reductions in services. Richard Green (USC Lusk Center) fields questions alongside Takahashi regarding how online retail is impacting tax revenue, how inequities are increasing during the pandemic, and the opportunities that this massive fiscal and social shakeup may provide.