States in trouble

[hilly7]

Kansas announced over the weekend it is suspending income tax refunds and state employee paychecks. New York, facing a $15 billion budget gap, is implementing all sorts of odd new taxes, including a 4% smack for downloading music and videos over the Internet. John Corzine is cutting programs left and right to fill the $2.1 billion gap in New Jersey.

In the Trendsetter State, Gov. Schwarzenegger is still flexing his muscles in front of the State Senate. The state has already shut down $3 billion in projects, delayed $3 billion in tax refunds and welfare checks and forced government employees into shortened workweeks. They’ve got three weeks to close the $42 billion gap between tax receipts and spending… or the state will simply run out of cash

Illegal weed sales exceed $14 billion in California each year -- ironically just a billion short of California’s budget deficit last year. Considering the potential tax revenues at stake, it might be too tempting for the Governator to say no. According to a recent Harvard study, a national legalization of marijuana would reap $7 billion in annual tax revenues and save over $13 billion in law enforcement costs. That’s not even taking into account the assured boom in junk food sales.