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.
| State | FY2012 Projected Shortfall In $Millions | FY2011 Share of Afghan War Costs In $Millions |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 979 | 1,035 |
| Arizona | 1,500 | 1,648 |
| California* | 14,800 | 14,219 |
| Colorado | 450 | 2,044 |
| Connecticut | 2,900 | 2,289 |
| District of Columbia | 322 | 957 |
| Florida | 3,700 | 5,793 |
| Georgia | 1,300 | 3,147 |
| Hawaii | 540 | 327 |
| Idaho | 92 | 323 |
| Illinois | 5,300 | 5,776 |
| Iowa | 149 | 914 |
| Kansas | 492 | 979 |
| Kentucky** | 780 | 1,216 |
| Louisiana | 1,600 | 1,798 |
| Maine | 422 | 307 |
| Maryland | 1,400 | 2,480 |
| Massachusetts | 1,800 | 3,715 |
| Michigan | 767 | 2,798 |
| Minnesota | 3,800 | 3,538 |
| Mississippi | 634 | 473 |
| Missouri | 704 | 2,398 |
| Nebraska | 166 | 918 |
| Nevada** | 1,200 | 670 |
| New Hampshire | 250 | 436 |
| New Jersey | 10,500 | 6,187 |
| New Mexico | 450 | 396 |
| New York | 10,000 | 10,415 |
| North Carolina | 2,400 | 2,994 |
| Ohio** | 3,000 | 5,539 |
| Oklahoma | 500 | 1,217 |
| Oregon** | 1,700 | 1,100 |
| Pennsylvania | 3,700 | 5,299 |
| Rhode Island | 219 | 547 |
| South Carolina | 630 | 903 |
| South Dakota | 127 | 224 |
| Texas | 9,000 | 9,839 |
| Utah | 390 | 704 |
| Vermont | 176 | 167 |
| Virginia** | 2,000 | 3,015 |
| Washington | 2,500 | 2,520 |
| Wisconsin | 1,600 | 1,988 |
| TOTAL | 102,900 | 122,000 |
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
