Cities and Fiscal Federalism in the Trump Era.

The purpose of this article is to explore the intergovernmental finance framework with an emphasis on the impacts of the current administration’s proposals on cities, including not just direct financial transfers but also changes to the federal tax code that have implications for municipal finance. In particular, we examine the impacts of two policies—reduced funding of community development block grant and federal income tax reform—to illustrate the effects of federal reform on local governments in the context of American federalism. We contend that the resiliency of local governments to exogenous shocks such as changes in federal policy is contingent on economic resources and institutional constraints imposed by state governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]