Federal budget woes trickle down

[Nambe]

THE WASHINGTON POST

--- “We’ve been bamboozled by politicians,” Kydd said to general agreement on a recent lunch break.
It feels that way in many towns and cities from border to border, as Washington and the states push fiscal crises of historic proportions from one level of government down to the next. While cutting federal taxes, President Bush and Congress left billions of dollars of federal education, health care and homeland security obligations to states. Governors and legislators — already struggling to fix record budget deficits, mostly without raising taxes — cut spending deeply in almost every area, including local aid. With nowhere else to send the bill, local governments are cutting services and, in many cases, raising property taxes.

Here in Fall River, a mostly immigrant city where the median annual income is just under $30,000, the trickle-down fiscal crisis means $4.5 million less in state aid over the next year for police, fire, libraries, trash pickup and other basic services. Like his president and governor, Mayor Edward M. Lambert Jr. (D) abhors tax increases, and he has sliced 145 city jobs, including 61 in police and fire protection. But with ongoing costs such as health care soaring, he came up $3.3 million short of a balanced budget.
Now he and the city council are raising property taxes 8 percent, or $335 per household.
“The governor says it’s not right to raise taxes, but apparently it’s okay as long as someone else raises them,” Lambert said. “What are our choices? There are none.” ---

Privatize bush It’s a Good Thing

[jab105]

1. My property taxes.....

went up 30%.....and my insurance went up also...

Since I'm in Florida, we dont have state taxes, which is nice...but everything else aint fun...

[proud patriot]

2. Be sure to reccomend (rate) the article at the very bottom

at the MNBC site .....