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U.S. states suffer "unbelievable" revenue shortages
Reuters ^ | 10/09/09 | Lisa Lambert

Posted on 10/11/2009 5:53:24 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

U.S. states suffer "unbelievable" revenue shortages

By Lisa Lambert

Fri Oct 9, 5:59 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy may be creeping toward recovery after the worst slowdown since the Great Depression, but many states see no end in sight to their diving tax revenues.

Tax revenues used to pay teachers and fuel police cars continue to trail even the most pessimistic expectations, despite the cash from the economic stimulus plan pouring into state coffers.

"It's crazy. It's really just unbelievable," said Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers, and called the states' revenue situations "close to unprecedented."

Most states had been pessimistic in forecasting their tax revenues for the 2010 fiscal year, Pattison said. So far, collections have fallen below even those low targets.

Lower tax revenues could lead to higher taxes or another sharp reduction in services if receipts do not show signs of improvement before year-end, as every state but

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bhoeconomy; economy; financialcrisis; greatdepression2009; obama; revenue; state; taxes
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To: Brugmansian

It’s interesting that some of theses states drops in tax collections matches closely to their current unemployment rates...which means the unemployment rate in Ga. must be horrible!


41 posted on 10/11/2009 6:29:26 AM PDT by mdmathis6
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To: 9YearLurker

90% of the State of SC workforce could be cut and most (productive) people wouldn’t notice.


42 posted on 10/11/2009 6:30:37 AM PDT by wally_bert (It's sheer elegance in its simplicity! - The Middleman)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

Gee, I guess governments will have to get smaller then.


43 posted on 10/11/2009 6:32:01 AM PDT by Recovering_Democrat
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To: cripplecreek

“Jenny Granholm said we had a “breathtaking” tobacco and lottery revenue decline several months ago.”

She said this? Well, looks like the more we demonize smokers the less cigarette revenuw we get. Who would have guessed that?
I’m sick of seeing GH trotted out like a democrat hero - in case no one has noticed, we’re not doing all that well over here!!


44 posted on 10/11/2009 6:33:16 AM PDT by ElayneJ
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To: Recovering_Democrat

“The fact is clear. Iowa has not spent too much; rather our revenue has fallen off by significant amounts as the result of the national economic recession,” Governor Culver said in a statement.


45 posted on 10/11/2009 6:33:24 AM PDT by John W
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To: Brugmansian
Or, if government workers were treated as the rest of us are by this economy, what they should expect to take as a paycut.
______________________________________________

What pay cut? My school teachers are guaranteed 3.5% raise per year for the next 4 years AND any steps raises during that time. Such a deal.

46 posted on 10/11/2009 6:34:06 AM PDT by Plumres
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To: TigerLikesRooster

This could be a plan to crash the economy to sell out to the “new world order”


47 posted on 10/11/2009 6:34:07 AM PDT by mountainlion (concerned conservative.)
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To: sphinx

They spent like drunken sailors...etc...etc...
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
HOLD ON!!
Being a former ‘drunken sailor’ I resemble that remark. If the ‘drunken sailors’ were a protected species, we could claim you were “ANTI-NAVEL [sic].

But like OB says, “I won’t raise taxes”...’they’ don’t have to. Just cut down funding the states, the ‘trickle up tax raises’ just cut US off at the knees.

Heard some ‘expert’ gripe the other day that people were not using credit cards, they were using debit cards.
THIS IS BAD? How- Isn’t that the target, spend within your means?

These friggin pols (BOTH SIDES) preach out of one side of their mouth but gripe when people do what they suggested..
such as cigarettes, booze, lottery, debit cards..etc...


48 posted on 10/11/2009 6:34:41 AM PDT by xrmusn ((6/98 )VOTE THE INCUMBENTS OUT)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

States’ revenue is where the actual condition of the economy walks the walk.... and this is proving that the economic advisors and the messiah in DC have NO CLOTHES


49 posted on 10/11/2009 6:36:23 AM PDT by silverleaf (If we are astroturf, why are the democrats trying to mow us?)
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To: DH

My town is acting like if they don’t have the libraries open 7 days a week, 10 hours a day, western civilization is dooomed


50 posted on 10/11/2009 6:38:15 AM PDT by silverleaf (If we are astroturf, why are the democrats trying to mow us?)
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To: silverleaf

libraries have been superceded by the Internet. We used to need libraries. Now we don’t.

But it’s one of the thousands of dependent little tentacles of gub’ment. Couldn’t possibly cut it off could we?


51 posted on 10/11/2009 6:39:37 AM PDT by chuck_the_tv_out ( <<< click my name: now featuring Freeper classifieds)
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To: ElayneJ
This was from back in March before the new tobacco taxes were imposed and the crap really hit the fan.

Michigan Lottery sales, taxes on cigarettes and casino gambling plummet; Gov. Jennifer Granholm says revenue decline is 'breathtaking'

"The big reason revenues are tanking is that consumers are negative and they're saving their money," Senate Fiscal Agency economist David Zin said Wednesday. "We thought consumers would ratchet up the savings and they've done so even more than we thought."

Also down were tax receipts on specific forms of discretionary spending, according to the agency's new revenue report. Tobacco tax receipts were down 6.7 percent and casino wagering taxes were down 7 percent. Michigan Lottery ticket sales dropped nearly 19 percent. One factor that explains some of the decline from a year ago was that February 2008 provided a 29th day of sales.

52 posted on 10/11/2009 6:41:46 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Seniors, the new shovel ready project under socialized medicine.)
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To: abb
They wrote this article as if it was bad news that government is being starved down...

It is bad news for those who depend on government for their standard of living.

53 posted on 10/11/2009 6:42:37 AM PDT by ez ("Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is." - Milton)
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To: 1raider1
The States must do something to get the Federal Govt. out of their business.

As more and more of their productive citizen's money goes to federal taxes, to get sent back to the States as "stimulus", or "revenue sharing" grants with all the usual federal strings attached the less autonomy they have. Letting the States go broke is in the best interst of the advocates of big, centralized bureaucracy inside the beltway. Either we destroy them, or they will destroy us.

54 posted on 10/11/2009 6:43:42 AM PDT by tacticalogic ("Oh bother!" said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.)
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To: chuck_the_tv_out

I’m just waiting for the local govt to announce that every nonteaching employee in the school system with the words “assistant” or “deputy” in their job title is gone (starting with those who have both words in their job title) but being put in line for new teaching positions, only

the horror


55 posted on 10/11/2009 6:44:24 AM PDT by silverleaf (If we are astroturf, why are the democrats trying to mow us?)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

It’s gonna get worse... Thanks for the ping.


56 posted on 10/11/2009 6:44:35 AM PDT by GOPJ (Nominated:Chamberlain, Hitler, Stalin. Winners: Arafat,Carter, Gore, Obama.(Nobel Prizes of Shame))
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To: sphinx; All

“They spent like drunken sailors as the housing bubble pushed property taxes ever higher. Now comes the reckoning.”

Folks, we have a WINNER !!


57 posted on 10/11/2009 6:45:10 AM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (Pray for, and support our troops(heroes) !! And vote out the RINO's!!)
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To: DH
They now only have 6 people fixing a single pothole instead of the regular 7.

The Ohio Highway Department is trying out a new experimental program, though it's getting strong resistance from the Unions. They've trained several highway workers to actually hold two shovels in the upright position instead of just one. This practice alone could save the state $48 million per year.

58 posted on 10/11/2009 6:45:53 AM PDT by meyer ("I went to Europe to buy the Olympics for Chicago and all I got was this silly Nobel")
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To: ez

They wrote this article as if it was bad news that government is being starved down...
It is bad news for those who depend on government for their standard of living.
_______________________________________________________

It has been bad out here in the corporate world for years. Your job is never safe. We have weekly lay offs at the bank I work for. It is usually done on Tuesday.


59 posted on 10/11/2009 6:47:23 AM PDT by Plumres
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To: meyer

The State of Oregon is still hiring new employees.


60 posted on 10/11/2009 6:47:51 AM PDT by jedi150
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