If taxes are higher in one town than in another it does not necessarily mean that residents of the low-tax town are better off; they may have had to pay high property prices to live in the more desirable low-tax town. It is incorrect to believe that property wealth differences are the only reason for spending disparities across towns. A more…

This report summarizes the status of states' budgets at the end of fiscal year 1997. The year's strong national economy boosted tax revenues and helped to decrease welfare rolls. Unemployment at the end of 1997 was below 5 percent nationally and real GDP growth was 3.5 percent for the first 3 quarters of the year. These indicators translate into…

This survey examined the attitudes of people in four states where tax or spending limitations appeared on the ballot in November 1978. It found that people had positive attitudes toward schools in their communities, believed schools are doing an above-average job, and viewed schools as a public service that should not be reduced. Results suggest…

This issue of the "Nevada Public Affairs Review" focused primarily on the politics of state taxing and spending in Nevada. The articles present several aspects of this topic, including a comparison of taxation in Nevada with that in other states, an analysis of the growth of the gaming industry in Nevada, an argument for removing…

During the 1980s Alaska's state and local governments spent two to three times more per capita than governments in other states but taxed individuals and businesses only about half as much. They were able to do this because high petroleum revenues paid most government expenses. Petroleum revenues began declining in the 1980s, and by the year 2000,…

The use of tax-exempt and taxable bonds by colleges and universities to raise capital is discussed. Currently, the most common tax-exempt instrument issued by higher education institutions is the revenue bond. Until the early 1980s the most common form of tax-exempt financing was long-term fixed-rate debt. Variable or floating rate debt became…

Includes two articles: one discusses Federal legislation and regulations affecting libraries in 2000, including database protection, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, funding, Internet filtering, and e-rate; and the second discusses legislation and regulations affecting publishing, including copyright, foreign sales corporation tax, children's…

Providing pre-college teachers with an analysis of tax reform is the primary goal of this publication. The present tax system is both inefficient and inequitable. Three goals of tax reform proposals are detailed: (1) fairness--the dimensions of horizontal equity, or equal treatment of equals however defined, and vertical equity, reflecting the…

A summary is presented of a 1982 limited distribution report, published by the Communication Network of the State Higher Education Executive Officers and the National Center for Education Statistics, which presents findings of a survey conducted by the Washington Council for Postsecondary Education. The survey focused on the fiscal situation in…

Alaska faces a problem that is easy to explain but hard to solve: state government is spending more than it collects. The budget crisis looms because oil production, which supplies 85% of the state's general fund revenues, will soon begin to fall as the Prudhoe Bay oil field is depleted. This paper examines the potential deficit and the effect it…

This document includes an introduction to the role of government in the production of public goods and services and 3 brief teaching units. The introduction describes the nature of a mixed economy and points out why most people identify the production of goods and services with private enterprise rather than government. It develops a rationale for…

In 1985, mean after-tax household income increased faster than inflation for the fourth consecutive year. Mean household income after taxes was $22,650 in 1985, up by 0.9 percent over the 1984 figure. Mean household income before taxes ($29,070) increased by 1.3 percent after adjusting for inflation. The mean after-tax incomes of both White…

To clarify issues in the controversy in Sweden concerning the means and ends of family policy, this article analyzes the economic plight of Swedish families with children, elucidates the views of parents and politicians, discusses the changing role and status of women, and considers prospects for the future. Also discussed are work equality and…

The working family is today by far the most common family type in Sweden. However, just over 50 percent of the children of working parents have access to day care. Because Swedish income tax policy is based on the concept that all adults will support themselves and does not take into account the number of persons supported on an income, one parent…

This issue explains the concept of externalities (benefits or burdens which accrue to society when there is a difference between the private cost or benefit of an action and the social cost or benefit of that action). These external or social costs of individual actions are often referred to as spillover costs. Three brief teaching units follow…