by Jennifer Burnett
TOP 5 » FISCAL & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Working to Meet Evolving Workforce Needs
Technology impacts every part of our lives and our economy—and it is drastically transforming the workforce and labor markets. From automation to a shift to remote workers and freelancers, the labor force is changing and evolving at a breathtaking pace. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman calls this an “age of acceleration” where the growth of technology is on an exponential curve. “Every middle-class job today is being pulled up, out or down faster than ever. That is, it either requires more skill or can be done by more people around the world or is being buried—made obso-
JAN/FEB 2018 | CAPITOL IDEAS
Health Care Costs
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Health care costs continue to dominate state budgets and changes at the federal level have the potential to shift costs and destabilize state budgets on a massive scale. Medicaid has consistently risen as a percentage of total state spending in recent years, reaching an estimated 29 percent in fiscal year 2016. As the federal government wrestles with changes to the Affordable Care Act and other major health care and health insurance programs, state leaders will be watching closely.