Union Leaders Join in White House Meeting on Health Care, Social Security
After eight years with a virtual “Do Not Enter” sign at the White House front door, President Obama has opened 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to leaders, policymakers and advocates of a wide range of views.
Yesterday, union and business leaders, conservative and progressive economists, and think tankers and Democratic and Republican lawmakers came together for a “Fiscal Responsibility Summit.”
At the opening session, Obama unveiled his outline to cut the $1.3 trillion federal deficit he inherited from the Bush administration in half by the end of his term by letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire, reining in tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and drawing down troops in Iraq, among other items.
Grim State Budgets Could Mean $100 Billion Shortfall
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The nation’s crashing economy and deepening recession is slamming states. A new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) reveals that 43 states are, or will soon be, facing serious budget shortfalls, forcing them to cut vital services, lay off workers, deplete reserves or raise taxes. With this fiscal year only half over:
The outlook for state budgets remains grim. Over half the states had already cut spending, used reserves, or raised revenues in order to adopt a balanced budget for the current fiscal year—which started July 1 in most states. Now, their budgets have fallen out of balance again….And these problems are expected to continue into next year.
The CBPP study, State Budget Troubles Worsen, shows that economic indicators predict that the current recession will be far more severe that the 2001 recession where unemployment topped out at 6.3 percent. Today, it already has hit 6.7 percent and
many economists expect it to rise much further, which will reduce state income taxes and increase demand for Medicaid and other services.
