Updated: Wednesday, 11 Nov 2009, 2:33 PM EST
Published : Wednesday, 11 Nov 2009, 2:33 PM EST
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California's ongoing fiscal crisis has attracted national
attention, but a study warns that nine other states are barreling
toward similar economic disaster.
A report released Wednesday by the
Pew Center on the States says Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey,
Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin also are at risk of fiscal
calamity.
That could mean higher taxes, more layoffs of government
employees, increasingly crowded classrooms and fewer services in
states that account for more than one-third of America's population
and economic output.
Most of the states face rising unemployment and high home
foreclosure rates, and their revenues have dropped by double-digit
percentages.
The analysis urges lawmakers and governors to take quick
action to prevent economic catastrophe.