Many States Appear To Be In A Recession

Good article from HuffingtonPost via the AP.


The finances of many states have deteriorated so badly that they appear to be in a recession, regardless of whether that's true for the nation as a whole, a survey of all 50 state fiscal directors concludes.
The situation looks even worse for the fiscal year that begins July 1 in most states.
"Whether or not the national economy is in recession _ a subject of ongoing debate _ is almost beside the point for some states," said the report to be released Friday by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The weakening economy is hitting tax revenue in a number of ways: People's discretionary income is being gobbled up by higher food and fuel costs, while the tanking housing market means people are spending less on furniture and appliances associated with buying a house.
The situation is grim in Delaware, with a $69 million gap this year, and bleak in California, with a projected $16 billion budget shortfall over the next two years, the report said. Florida does not expect a rapid turnaround in revenue because of the prolonged real estate slump there.

Read the article at HuffingtonPost.

While I am not complaining about the stimulus check that I will be receiving in the mail, I have reservations that this will actually stimulate the economy. I also feel that most people will use this money to help pay overdue bills. I feel that it is obvious due to rising gas and food prices, that the money will be put towards those purposes. With the issue of food, why do we continue to pay farmers not to grow food on their land? This is a great opportunity to support our local farmers and have US grown produce here in the USA instead of importing.