The focus of our woes often centers on California, which is either our reasonably bright future or a dysfunctional disaster.  Something tells me Californians will, before too long, again be at the apex of the American dream.  But a lot of other states are matching California’s present problems, as this Gwen Ifill segment from PBS’s Newshour explains.  We all heard about Schwarzenneger’s IOUs, but Ifill reports that California

is hardly alone. Nine other states are also in a budget fix.  Rhode Island, New Jersey, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon all face potential layoffs, tax increases and cuts in services in coming months.

These states on the front lines of the recession emerge from a report by the Pew Center on the States.  Clearly if these large states are heading for more trouble, we’re all going to be in a state.  And it may be time for some actual realism on revenues — by which I mean some additional taxes on the wealthiest Americans and corporations.  It may be that the states will lead the way, so here’s a bet: the states that raise taxes the soonest will emerge from disaster the quickest. -NH

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