Bredesen’s TN budget options are grim, By Chas Sisk, November 23, 2009, The Tennessean: “Now the difficult decisions begin. State officials have suggested releasing nonviolent felons and closing group homes for children. They’ve called for increases in tuition at state universities and caps on benefits within the state’s medical insurance system. But as Gov. Phil Bredesen and his advisers draw up their budget proposal for the fiscal year that starts July 1, 2010, it’s uncertain how many of the dramatic measures described in hearings last week actually will be implemented. ‘It’s a difficult situation,’ he said. ‘I’m obviously going to try to mitigate the worst effects of this and move forward.’ State officials have said the government may need to trim as much as $1.5 billion from the $29 billion spending plan the state legislature passed in June. Since that budget was passed, tax receipts have continued to fall…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty