Jim Johnson, Visiting Professor of the Practice, Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy.https://fds.duke.edu/db/Sanford/faculty/james.johnson
Johnson is an expert in public finance, including for education, and revenue forecasting. Until December 2005 he was the director of the North Carolina General Assembly's Fiscal Research Division, the Assembly's nonpartisan budget, finance and policy staff.
Quote: "States differ significantly from the federal government in their budget priorities, their tax structures, and limitations on deficits and borrowing. Together these are creating the most challenging fiscal environment in generations.
"States do not have the same budget and monetary flexibility that comes with the ability of the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve to borrow funds in national and international markets.
"State tax structures differ significantly from the federal government. States are highly dependent on sales and income taxes and to lesser extent property taxes. All of these taxes have been hard hit by the current recession with its high unemployment and declining real estate prices.
"In addition, most states have constitutional or statutory requirements that budgets must be balanced. While these requirements vary by state, they are a significant part of state budget negotiations."