November 11, 2009 - State and local governments in the U.S. may be forced to cut 900,000 jobs next year without additional help from the federal government, according to a report released by a prominent liberal think tank Wednesday.
To prevent state budget cuts from imperiling an economy just beginning to recover, policy makers should send additional stimulus funds in 2010 to state and local governments, urged officials at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington think tank.
If the government does not send more economic relief, deficit-strapped states trying to balance their budgets will have to make deep cuts in services and jobs. Those cuts could shave nearly a full point off the country’s gross domestic product and result in the loss of 900,000 jobs, the report predicts.
“Cutting services, laying off workers and raising taxes would further weaken the economy” at a time when its recovery would be especially fragile, said report co-author Iris Lav, a senior adviser at the think tank. FULL STORY
