Protesters inside the Wisconsin State Capitol on March 10, 2011 in Madison, Wisconsin. Republican Governor Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled legislature plan pay cuts for all state employees and to strip them of their collective bargaining rights in controversial legislation. The Wisconsin Assembly passed the legislation. UPI/David Banks |
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Census Bureau said Wednesday state government revenues grew from $1.1 trillion in 2009 to $2 trillion in 2010, an increase of 79 percent.
The increase was mainly attributed to large increases in social insurance trust revenue from employee retirement systems, federal and state social insurance trust systems including unemployment insurance, state government worker's compensation programs, Social Security and Medicare, the bureau said in a release.
General revenues, however, increased by a modest 4.5 percent in 2010.
"General revenue helps state governments fund basic services, such as education, police protection, social services, highway improvements, health and hospitals and the like," said Lisa Blumerman, chief of the Census Bureau's Governments Division.
"In 2010, general revenue amounted to $1.6 trillion, representing a 4.5 percent increase in available funds from 2009. This growth in general revenue indicates that states were able to raise limited additional funding in 2010, whether it be through the collection of taxes, charges, or receipt of additional federal monies, to provide continued services for their constituents."
General revenues comprised 77 percent of state governments' total revenue in 2010.
State governments' general expenditures rose 2.4 percent in 2010 to nearly $1.6 trillion, with education ($571.0 billion), public welfare ($462.7 billion) and health and hospitals ($123.6 billion) topping the list.
