New York has balanced its budget, and California finally shed its reputation as a fiscal laggard, reaching its budget on time for the first time in years. But other states are not on similar paths. In Minnesota, if the Democratic governor and Republican-led legislature cannot agree on a budget by midnight tonight, all nonessential services will shut down, including state parks–dire news, ahead of the July 4 weekend. So why is it taking so long? And what can we learn from states that have already settled their books? Matthew Mitchell is a research fellow on State and Local Policy at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, and he joins us now.
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