It's still the economy, stupid

[khaosworks]

US sees the lights go out as states scrimp and save
From Roland Watson in Washington

IN MISSOURI they are unscrewing every third lightbulb. Prisons in Illinois are splitting prescription drugs in half. The Governor of South Carolina is urging others to follow his practice of reusing Post-it notes and saving paper clips.

Across the United States the worst budget crisis in half a century has forced states to scrimp for savings in a style reminiscent of the Great Depression. Together, the 50 state governments are facing deficits of $30 billion (£19 billion) this year and $82 billion next.

Because all but Vermont are obliged by their own laws to balance their budgets, they have to find $112 billion-worth of savings in two years. California, which has the biggest deficit, is about to run out of money.

Tax rises would help to meet some of the need, but in many states moves to increase taxes have been defeated by legislatures or voters, leaving drastic cuts as the only way to make ends meet.

And the Bush adminstration says that it's the states' problem. To be fair, maybe it is - after all, this had to had been coming since the cutting of state taxes made public funds fall down and go boom. But then again, one wonders how this is going to blowback on Bush eventually. After all, this demonstrates how perilous the idea of cutting taxes in a recession can be, if money still ain't flowing in. Point being - it's still the economy, and Bush ignores it at his peril, because even if it's the states' fault, the people are still going to blame the dunce at the top. Guess who.