New York Times (August 14)
There is “a growing gloom for states and cities.” Struggling to balance budgets, city and state governments have cut 577,000 jobs since 2008. “Washington should have been trying to find a way to help states avoid the layoffs and cutbacks…. Instead, it seems to be doing everything possible to make the situation worse.” This includes “a budget deal that will probably lead to a significant reduction in federal aid; a bond downgrade that could eventually trickle down to the local and state level, making borrowing more expensive; and a stock market plunge that is bleeding state employee pension funds.”
Tags: Budgets, Cities, Local governments, Pension funds, States, U.S., Unemployment