National Priorities Project: Democratizing the Federal Budget

Afghan War Costs Compared to State Budget Shortfalls

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June 27, 2011

A recent report by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities found that 41 states and the District of Columbia are projecting budget shortfalls for fiscal year 2012 totaling $102.9 billion. This amount could be wiped out entirely by the amount spent on the war in Afghanistan this year ($122 billion in FY2011). Further, the amount contributed by each individual state to the war's cost would wipe out that state's shortfall in roughly 80 percent of the states projecting deficits. In some cases a state's war contribution exceeds its projected shortfall by billions of dollars.

States not listed in the following table are either not projecting a funding shortfall in FY2012 or for which there is no data.

StateFY2012 Projected Shortfall In $MillionsFY2011 Share of Afghan War Costs In $Millions
Alabama9791,035
Arizona1,5001,648
California*14,80014,219
Colorado4502,044
Connecticut2,9002,289
District of Columbia322957
Florida3,7005,793
Georgia1,3003,147
Hawaii540327
Idaho92323
Illinois5,3005,776
Iowa149914
Kansas492979
Kentucky**7801,216
Louisiana1,6001,798
Maine422307
Maryland1,4002,480
Massachusetts1,8003,715
Michigan7672,798
Minnesota3,8003,538
Mississippi634473
Missouri7042,398
Nebraska166918
Nevada**1,200670
New Hampshire250436
New Jersey10,5006,187
New Mexico450396
New York10,00010,415
North Carolina2,4002,994
Ohio**3,0005,539
Oklahoma5001,217
Oregon**1,7001,100
Pennsylvania3,7005,299
Rhode Island219547
South Carolina630903
South Dakota127224
Texas9,0009,839
Utah390704
Vermont176167
Virginia**2,0003,015
Washington2,5002,520
Wisconsin1,6001,988
TOTAL102,900122,000

NOTES

* California's total does not include an $8.2 billion carried over from the previous fiscal year.
** State totals are one-half of projected shortfall for a two-year budget.

SOURCES

"States Continue to Feel Recession's Impact"
Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, June 17, 2011