"Fifty Herbert Hoovers " By Paul Krugman

[mucifer]

No modern American president would repeat the fiscal mistake of 1932, in which the federal government tried to balance its budget in the face of a severe recession. The Obama administration will put deficit concerns on hold while it fights the economic crisi

But even as Washington tries to rescue the economy, the nation will be reeling from the actions of 50 Herbert Hoovers — state governors who are slashing spending in a time of recession, often at the expense both of their most vulnerable constituents and of the nation’s economic future.

These state-level cutbacks range from small acts of cruelty to giant acts of panic — from cuts in South Carolina’s juvenile justice program, which will force young offenders out of group homes and into prison, to the decision by a committee that manages California state spending to halt all construction outlays for six months.

Now, state governors aren’t stupid (not all of them, anyway). They’re cutting back because they have to — because they’re caught in a fiscal trap. But let’s step back for a moment and contemplate just how crazy it is, from a national point of view, to be cutting public services and public investment right now. snip*

more at
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/opinion/29krugman.html?_r=1

[fasttense]

1. Shouldn't there be a recall election in California?

"Are governors responsible for their own predicament? To some extent. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in particular, deserves some jeers. He became governor in the first place because voters were outraged over his predecessor’s budget problems, but he did nothing to secure the state’s fiscal future — and he now faces a projected budget deficit bigger than the one that did in Gray Davis."

[Hubert Flottz]

3. He did bail ENRON out.

By quashing the case in Cal. against them.

[salguine]

7. I think recall operations ought to start on Capitol Hill, myself.

[sandnsea]

2. Our governor wants to raise taxes

to pay for health care, education and a public works program. I think it's generally a good idea, but some of them he wants to raise too high, like vehicle registration and the gas tax. Maybe if they phased it in over a few years to give people time to adjust.

But our Republicans are fighting it, that's for sure. And blaming Democrats for creating the mess. I don't know how they say that with a straight face.

[SoCalDem]

4. How they can do it?

They ARE republicans:rofl: republicans have never met a poor person they did not want to cut aid for...until THEY lose their jobs:)

[NewJeffCT]

5. It's the dream of those Republican balanced budget types

deficits so high they have to cut essential services, thereby hurting the poor even more, and simultaneously taking a wrecking ball to the middle class.

[Swamp Rat]

6. It's...