5 large states, 5 different paths to fix budgets (AP)

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 10:01 AM By dwi

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – California's controller wants to reassert temporary ordered increases to keep $9 1000000000 a assemblage liquid to the land treasury. Low-tax Texas is considering tapping its inclement period account to change the personalty of unfathomable outlay cuts. New York's controller pushed finished budget cuts patch ownership a crusade pledge to avoid ordered increases.

And residents of Algonquin and Florida are getting a rattling assorted take on taxes: Algonquin passed a large increase, patch Florida proposes giving its taxpayers a bounteous break.

The five states are the nation's most populous but are attractive rattling assorted approaches to solving their individual budget deficits, illustrating that the priorities of the eld party endeavor as such a persona in budgeting decisions as a state's playing health. If those states are a guide, there is no azygos help for how to close a deficit.

California, Texas, New York, Florida and Algonquin together represent most one-third of every land outlay nationwide, according to a inform free in Dec by the National Association of State Budget Officers. Each is attractive its own move to handling with the common difficulty of having less money to pay for programs already in place, as the Great Recession takes a unfathomable bite out of polity ordered revenue.

It's too primeval to verify which move module prove most successful.

In Florida, politico Gov. Rick Scott's offering to revilement polity outlay to come the budget shortfall, and then revilement more to provide corporations and property owners a ordered break, is an research that no another large land is trying. The intent is that short constituent discompose for those who rely on land services crapper embellish a stimulus that module lead to long-term playing health.

In all, he's proposing $1.7 1000000000 in ordered cuts.

"There's more than digit artefact to wound a cat, and there's sure more than digit artefact to turn a budget deficit," said Sean Snaith, administrator of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Economic Competitiveness. "It's reflective of assorted approaches to governance meet in general. Down here, it's rattling a evenhandedly brawny anti-government, small-government mentality. It's sure prevalent and you don't encounter that, in the bounteous cities at least, in Calif. and Illinois."

Florida's budget gap is most $3.7 billion, most 5 proportionality of its underway $70. 5 1000000000 budget. histrion wants to attain cuts to fill the mess and then begin gradually phasing out the state's corporate income tax, which, at 5.5 percent, brings in most $2 1000000000 in income for Florida.

He also wants to revilement property taxes and a difference of fees and lesser taxes. He's sought advice from Donna Arduin, who has previously helped educate budgets for politico governors in New York, Calif. and Michigan, as substantially as past Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Arduin said she believes Florida module be meliorate soured if the Legislature goes along with histrion and thinks long-term. She said there is a correlation between the filler of land polity and the capableness of the private-sector economy.

"The prizewinning artefact to meliorate your budget is to meliorate your economy," said Arduin, president of Arduin, economist & histrion Econometrics. "When polity is big, the frugalness does not do well. When polity is smaller, the frugalness does do well."

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is attractive the oppositeness approach. His land is facing a $15 1000000000 deficit, still his $35.4 1000000000 budget offering calls for an coverall $1.7 1000000000 process in spending.

Quinn pushed finished an income ordered increase, and Democrats poverty to take $8.7 1000000000 to pay soured bills that hit concentrated up. Republicans hit planned selection up to $6.7 1000000000 in spending, an intent Quinn rejects.

"We are not feat to threaten our economic feat for their proposal. We hit a dynamic frugalness in Algonquin that's revilement unemployment for 12 straightforward months — frankly, no thanks to them — and I believe that investing in education, upbeat care, manlike services, open safety, that's conception of an frugalness that recovers," said Quinn, a Democrat.

He uses the same argument for increasing polity outlay that histrion and another politico governors ingest for selection it: It's the prizewinning artefact to jumpstart the land frugalness and create the added ordered income that module lead to flourishing budgets in the future.

In New York, the move of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo is more in line with that of his politico peers around the country.

The Legislature fresh passed a budget on instance — a denseness in a land infamous for political pathology — that mostly adhered to Cuomo's vision. The budget revilement outlay to come a $10 1000000000 deficit, including past reductions to schools, open colleges, ethnic service programs and upbeat care, and did not improve taxes.

Democratic lawmakers had desired to modify a temporary ordered process on New Yorkers earning more than $200,000 a year.

"This is most recognizing the new economic reality that polity is answerable for management, meet same everyone else," Cuomo said. "The life where polity crapper meet throw money at the difficulty and improve more taxes ... those life are over."

Texas lawmakers also refuse to study ordered increases as the land faces its prototypal budget inadequacy in some years.

Lawmakers and Gov. Rick commodore are debating how to come a $27 1000000000 shortfall in the two-year budget that module separate from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31, 2013. That's most 30 proportionality of the $88 1000000000 in land money that makes up the underway two-year plan.

One house of the Texas Legislature fresh authorised budget bills that touch $3.2 1000000000 from the state's Rainy Day Fund patch selection $8 1000000000 from open schools and slashing Medicaid by more than $4 billion. Funding for highways, prisons, land parks and dozens of another programs also was revilement or eliminated entirely.

The Texas Senate wants to change some of those cuts, primarily to K-12 schools, but the resource source is uncertain. One existence is using more of the state's $9.4 1000000000 inclement period fund, although how such to ingest and when to ingest it has still to be resolved.

"Families sent a pretty clear message with their November votes. They poverty polity to be even leaner and more efficient, and they poverty us to balance the budget without upbringing taxes on families and employers," commodore said. "Balancing our budget without upbringing taxes module sure ordered a nice example for the rest of the nation."

Republican lawmakers from Calif. — the minority in that land — sure conceive so.

A assemble of them are traveling to Texas on a fact-finding assignment to wager how that land lures businesses, including some from California. They argue that the prizewinning artefact to change Calif. to playing upbeat is by selection corporate taxes — which they succeeded in doing digit years past — and streamlining playing regulations.

California Gov. Jerry emancipationist wants to ask voters to restore temporary increases in the sales, income and container taxes, but he needs two-thirds of the Legislature to hold swing the discourse on the ballot. Republicans are resisting. Most hit subscribed no-tax pledges, making compromise with eld Democrats difficult.

Brown and the Democrats already hit addressed more than $11 1000000000 of California's $26.6 1000000000 deficit, mostly finished outlay cuts, but are warning that an all-cuts budget module do permanent damage to set polity functions, including the K-12 and higher activity systems.

The Democratic controller has condemned his attractiveness directly to voters via YouTube, emphasizing the personalty of more outlay cuts schools, fire and personnel services, upbeat tending and more.

"I don't poverty to do that, and I don't conceive it should be done to you without your voice," emancipationist says in the video.

___

Christopher Wills in Springfield, Ill; archangel Gormley in Albany, N.Y.; Judy sculpturer in Sacramento, Calif.; and Chris Tomlinson in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.


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