Meredith Whitney’s thesis looks a little bit worse with each passing day. According to the Rockefeller Institute state tax revenues continue to make a sharp comeback (thanks to Calculated Risk):
“The Rockefeller Institute’s compilation of data from 47 early reporting states shows collections from major tax sources increased by 9.1 percent in nominal terms in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the same quarter of 2010. That represented the third consecutive quarter of increasing strength in revenues. Tax collections now have been rising for five straight quarters, following five quarters of declines, but were still 3.1 percent lower in early 2011 than in the same period three years ago.”
There’s a lot of work to do to get back to a healthy position, but the trend is moving in the right direction. This is particularly obvious when we look at the complete picture of revenues and expenditures:
Mr. Roche is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Discipline Funds.Discipline Funds is a low fee financial advisory firm with a focus on helping people be more disciplined with their finances.
He is also the author of Pragmatic Capitalism: What Every Investor Needs to Understand About Money and Finance, Understanding the Modern Monetary System and Understanding Modern Portfolio Construction.
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