Governors forced to make tough decisions during current financial crisis

PAUL KRUGMAN of the New York Times comments: As Obama "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." Governors are "cutting back because they have to — because they’re caught in a fiscal trap...(they are forced to) cutting public services and public investment right now...shredding the social safety net at a moment when many more Americans need help isn’t just cruel. It adds to the sense of insecurity that is one important factor driving the economy down." It is being done because "state and local government revenues are plunging along with the economy — and unlike the federal government, lower-level governments can’t borrow their way through the crisis." Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio has suggested that relief must include: " funding for food stamps and Medicaid; federal funding of state- and local-level infrastructure projects; and federal aid to education." The overriding problem facing the nation, Krugman concludes; that the federal government needs to ensure "that the fiscal problems of the states don’t make the economic crisis even worse."