I just learned it is illegal for many states to engage in deficit spending for emergencies: "That’s in part because, in many cases, states are legally barred f

I just learned it is illegal for many states to engage in deficit spending for emergencies: "That’s in part because, in many cases, states are legally barred from deficit spending, which means in times of crisis, especially those producing huge budget shortfalls through collapsing tax revenue, they are functionally unable to respond at all. In such situations, the federal government is designed to serve as a backstop, but over and over again throughout this crisis, the White House has said states will get little to no help — that they are entirely on their own. (The federal medical stockpile isn’t meant for the states, as Jared Kushner has said, as though the country is anything more than its states.)" This is why the Trump government stealing PPE supplies from states is so fucked up: Source: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/hospitals-face-a-white-house-blockade-for-coronavirus-ppe.html?utm_source=digg https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/hospitals-face-a-whi...