Shortfall Shock: Governing Magazine July 7
Governing Magazine spoke with GrowSmart Maine a few weeks ago about the state’s budget struggles, and its outlook for the future. The article has just been published in the July 2009 issue - check it out for a good overview of the state’s financial situation.
Maine’s budget had to shrink by $500 million this year - an 8% reduction on the previous biennium’s $6.3 billion budget. But if you think we’ve got it bad, just look at California, which is struggling to deal with a $64 billion shortfall in an extremely divided state legislature.
The Los Angeles Times has created a budget-balancing “game” (I hesitate to call it that, since it forces you to make some dismal choices) that puts these problems some context. Mix and match your choices among a menu of jobs-killing tax increases and misery-inducing health and human welfare programs to come up with the missing billions.