We don't want to get too euphoric about the situation.
They really are at a point where the easy stuff to do has been done, so now the choice has become between tax increases and fairly stringent cuts in programs.
Personal saving rates are minimal, and the federal government is deeply in deficit. But the states are putting money back into their rainy-day funds.
But from an economics or financial management perspective, you'd say of course you want to start looking out way beyond one year.
People really have to be careful. It's because revenue went down so far and we're very cautious about future projections. It doesn't necessarily mean that happy days are here again.
Every new dollar coming in is already spent and then some. I liken it to a guy who gets a raise and then gets home to see the bills just keep piling up.
Overall, as part of the state budget, it's not huge at this point, but we certainly expect that to change.
Increased tax revenue is good news for the states. But the bad news is that things like Medicaid, that you have to pay for, still cost a fortune.
The memory of the really bad downturn we had from 2002 to 2004 is strong. And there's always Medicaid. And a lot of states want to build up their rainy-day funds in case the economy goes soft again. So all of that is going to limit somewhat the momentum for new programs.
