BudgetForecasting Budgetmaneuvers LegacyCosts ReserveFunds Transparency

The Volcker Alliance was launched in 2013 by former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker to encourage effective policymaking and help rebuild trust in government.

In a recent report, the nonpartisan alliance graded each state on five critical areas that explain how budgets are put together, balanced and explained to the public.

States were given grades of A to D-minus for their procedures in:

BUDGET FORECASTING, which evaluates how states estimate long-term revenue and spending trends

BUDGET MANEUVERS, which evaluates whether states used one-time revenues, borrowings, asset sales and other measures to achieve short-term budget balance

North Dakota

South Dakota

CROP PRODUCTION PROJECTIONS* FOR DROUGHT-AFFECTED STATES

*

1 yields per acre; other crops Aug. 1.

LEGACY COSTS, which evaluates whether states provided adequate funding for pensions and other promised retirement benefits for public workers

RESERVE FUNDS, which evaluates states’ rainy-day funds and other fiscal reserves

TRANSPARENCY, which evaluates the accessibility to the public of state’s budget practices

CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY ANALYSIS, NOVEMBER 2017:

“The Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index rose from September’s reading, but remained below growth neutral, according to the latest monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and/or energy.

“The index -- like all indices in the survey -- ranges between 0 and 100 and increased to 45.3 from 39.6 in September.

“As a result of weak farm income and low farm commodity prices, about 9.5 percent of bank CEOs expect farm loan foreclosures to pose the greatest threat to banking operations over the next five years.”

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; U.S. Department of Agriculture

State Migration Trends

Source: LendingTree.com

Source: Creighton University

State Moving Popularity Score

Oct. 2016-Oct. 2017 (highest = most popular states, adjusted for population, for home buyers from out-of-state)

Source: LendingTree.com