American state and city governments are bleeding out

Why rescuing them should be a no-brainer in any stimulus deal

A train.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

American cities and states are staggering under the blows of the pandemic. People staying at home means these governments are being starved of tax revenue, while mass joblessness means a terrific demand on services that are largely funded by states like unemployment insurance and Medicaid. This is the main reason why aid to those governments, and especially to local transit authorities across the country, is about the most important thing to include in any new coronavirus rescue package (roughly tied with money to distribute coronavirus vaccines and renewing the temporary boost to unemployment benefits).

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell apparently agrees with this, as he has reportedly suggested dropping his favored corporate pandemic liability shield if Democrats will agree to axe the aid to state and local governments. Because McConnell is a devious political nihilist, who is obviously aiming to harm the economy to sandbag the Biden administration, his stance is one more reason to double down on this aid. If he doesn't want it that badly, it must be good.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.