Skip to main content
Monday, November 9, 2026Nov 9
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Editorial: The state of the states is dire amid coronavirus crisis

Photo by Anna Moneymaker of The New York Times / Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, shown here at a news conference at the Capitol in Washington on April 21, 2020, has taken a hard line against giving cash-short states more federal aid in future emergency pandemic relief legislation, saying that those suffering steep shortfalls amid the coronavirus crisis should instead consider bankruptcy.
Photo by Anna Moneymaker of The New York Times / Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, shown here at a news conference at the Capitol in Washington on April 21, 2020, has taken a hard line against giving cash-short states more federal aid in future emergency pandemic relief legislation, saying that those suffering steep shortfalls amid the coronavirus crisis should instead consider bankruptcy. Photo by Anna Moneymaker of The New York Times / Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, shown here at a news conference at the Capitol in Washington on April 21, 2020, has taken a hard line against giving cash-short states more federal aid in future emergency pandemic relief legislation, saying that those suffering steep shortfalls amid the coronavirus crisis should instead consider bankruptcy.

By The New York Times Editorial Board 5 min read

As negotiations over the next coronavirus relief package heat up, a key point of contention – perhaps the key point – is whether Congress will provide meaningful aid to struggling state and local governments.

Boiling down the politics: Democratic lawmakers favor the move. Many Republicans, including the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, do not. Some in the Trump administration have suggested that withholding aid is a great way to pressure states to reopen sooner rather than later. This is both cynical and destructive. Denying states a financial lifeline, even as Washington is showering trillions of dollars on the private sector, will only exacerbate the economic devastation that Congress is trying to mitigate.

The situation is dire. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that states could suffer a collective shortfall of $500 billion through the 2022 fiscal year. Tapping rainy-day funds and using the targeted federal aid already appropriated would still leave a $360 billion gap, the center warns, “not including the substantial new costs they face to combat the COVID-19 virus.” Local, state and territorial governments face their own funding crunches. As tax revenues plunge, costs are expected to skyrocket as layoffs and pay cuts drive more people to apply for food stamps, Medicaid and other public assistance.

The nation’s governors have petitioned Congress for $500 billion in direct funding to help address lost revenue. Without this aid, the states – which, unlike the federal government, cannot run budget deficits – will have to start slashing costs. Read: services. Read also: jobs. Lots of public-sector jobs.

As a result of the financial crisis of 2008, state and local governments shed an estimated 585,000 jobs. This time around, the pain is expected to be even more pronounced. Teachers, law enforcement officers, bus drivers and legions of others stand to get hit. In addition, the nation’s nonprofit sector, which accounts for around 10% of private employment, relies heavily on government grants and contracts.