States Hurt as Federal Dollars Dry Up

States Face New Pinch as Stimulus Ebbs – Deborah Solomon, The Wall Street Journal
“Stimulus is going to run out and there isn’t sufficient economic growth and revenue growth that’s going to come in and make up for the loss of those funds,” said Scott Pattison…Thirty states have budgeted for the Medicaid funds, which would provide additional money for six months beginning Jan. 1. Of those states, only nine have contingency plans in place if the money doesn’t arrive, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures…Already, state and local governments have cut more than 230,000 jobs since August 2008, or about 1.2% of overall payrolls, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics…Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s economy.com, said states could lose an additional 400,000 to 500,000 jobs over the next year without additional aid.