State Budgets

ALEC Brings Pro-Growth Policy Ideas to Midwest Academy

The ALEC Center for State Fiscal Reform journeyed to St. Charles, Missouri for another educational academy in our Tax and Fiscal Policy Academy series. Special thanks go to Missouri Representative and ALEC Board of Directors member Justin Hill and a very welcoming host committee of Missouri legislators.

“Once again, the ALEC legislator policy academy series proved to be a massive success, and we were thrilled to host in St. Charles. With COVID-19 upending the policy environment and exposing the need for reforms, this was the perfect opportunity to bring together lawmakers from our region. Each of us left the event better equipped with tools and resources to pursue sound fiscal and economic policies in our states.” -Missouri Representative Justin Hill

With more than 20 legislative leaders representing six states, ALEC was able to bring a free market and limited government educational message to state lawmakers who represent much of the Midwest region. With so many policy issues confronting states across the Midwest during the COVID-19 pandemic, our academy provided lawmakers with the tools to find the right policy answers.

Many of those answers were discussed during a presentation on our Rich States, Poor States report, showing how free market policies have contributed to strong state economies. The academy also focused on the ALEC State Budget Reform Toolkit and how fiscally responsible reforms and less reliance on federal dollars can position states to ameliorate the effects of difficult economic shutdowns and better prepare for the next fiscal crisis.

Robust discussions on pro-growth tax reform covered the myths surrounding Kansas’ 2012 tax cuts and the economic costs wrought by discriminatory taxation – how allowing the government to pick winners and losers can make the tax code burdensome and anti-growth.

Since the Midwest contains a few states with some of the worst funded plans of any state, attendees learned of the looming state pension crisis and the path to solvency and reform.

These innovative policy discussions made the ALEC Midwest Tax and Fiscal Policy Academy one of the best yet. We look forward to continuing our successful policy training series in 2021.


In Depth: State Budgets

Smart budgeting is vital to a state’s financial health. The ALEC State Budget Reform Toolkit offers more than 20 policy ideas for addressing today’s shortfalls in a forthright manner, without resorting to budget gimmicks or damaging tax increases. One way to stabilize budgets over time is to embrace…

+ State Budgets In Depth