Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Who Gets Hurt the Most If US Falls Off 'Fiscal Cliff'

CNBC senior reporter Steve Liesman writes: Much of the discussion about fixing the fiscal cliff has been at the abstract level: the need to cut federal spending by $2.5 trillion and raise $1.6 trillion in revenue over the next decade.

But those big numbers obscure real pain that could be inflicted at the local level where federal spending in some places is a huge part of the economy and where the government is the only employer in town.

A look at how federal spending cuts would impact local and state governments shows how difficult spending cuts will be politically: both big red states and blue states benefit from federal largesse. It also highlights the potential economic pain: some states with high unemployment rates like California and South Carolina, will shoulder the added burden of federal spending cuts….

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