Latest / The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo: Government Budgets, Stimulus, and Public Spending
How One City Taxed Itself Into a Recession and Back Out Again
When a mid-sized American city tried to balance its budget by raising property taxes, it accidentally triggered the fastest local economic contraction since the 1970s. Lucas and Luna unpack the case of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, which hiked millage rates by 22 percent in 2023 only to see assessed values collapse, business licenses drop by 14 percent, and sales tax revenue fall below pre-hike levels within 18 months. They trace how the county's own economic model failed to account for behavioral feedback—and what happened when officials reversed course, cutting rates by 9 percent and…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.