Fresh Loaf

The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government recently looked at states’ revenue streams and discovered, whoa, hey, this appears to be the worst year on record.

State tax collections during the first quarter 2009 showed the sharpest decline on record, dropping 11.7 percent overall, according to an Institute report released July 17… Early figures for the second quarter reveal continued worsening of fiscal conditions for states.

According to the report (PDF), Georgia leads the pack when it comes to declines in sales-tax revenue.

Forty of 45 states with broad-based sales taxes had declines, and eleven states had double-digit declines. Iowa had the largest increase at 18.5 percent which is attributable to legislated tax increases. Georgia led the states with the largest decline at 16.3 percent followed by Nevada at 16.0 percent.

The institute predicts more budget shortfalls and financial hardships for states. Last Tuesday, Gov. Sonny Perdue told agency heads to trim their budgets once more to help fill a $900 million shortfall. Some teachers face three furlough days.

Not the best way to start the upcoming school year, but you work with what you’ve got.

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Lock up your wives and daughters, mates! Walter Jones of Morris News Service and the Dalton Daily Citizen report that the Georgia General Assembly might have to return to the Gold Dome for a special session. The reason? The budget.

From Jones:

The length and depth of the current recession has prompted round after round of cutbacks in state spending, and now legislators are talking about the need for a special session to address it.

Tax collections were down in May, putting the decline at 10 percent for the 11 months of the fiscal year to date.

Economists say the recovery in the overall economy could begin in the fall, but state revenues lag, primarily because consumers continue to hold on to their money until they personally feel an improvement, say through a pay raise, bonus or promotion. The last recession resulted in depressed state revenues for about two years after the economy officially recovered.

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The AJC’s James Salzer reports:

State agencies can expect more furloughs and possibly layoffs into the upcoming fiscal year, legislative leaders said Monday.

House members will work this week to wrap up work on the spending plan for the year that starts July 1. The budget, which is expected to pass the Georgia House on Thursday, will continue major cutbacks for state agencies.

Lawmakers vowed that the budget would not contain the usual millions of dollars for local community assistance grants, commonly called “pork” at the Capitol.

“It would be irresponsible of us to put local assistance grants in when we’re asking people to make all these cuts,” said House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans). “In this kind of economic climate, it’s just not a high priority.”

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By now you’ve surely seen the comments state Rep. Calvin Hill, R-ThisThatAndTheOther, made yesterday about how ENRAGED he was that taxpayer dollars were paying the salaries of Georgia State University profs considered scholars in the fields of oral sex, queer theory and male prostitution.

An enigmatic scribe at Pecanne Log reminds us of the hardships GSU has endured to become a group-sex friendly learning institution:

Georgia State has lagged behind other colleges in the state for decades in terms of student life due to its designation as a commuter school. The most flourishing and attractive part of any higher education institution’s campus life is, of course, its orgies. GSU has spent the last ten years playing an expensive catch-up in order to also be labeled an orgy-friendly research institution.

She goes on to carefully detail just how much the university has accomplished — occupying the Sodom and Gomorrah-esque Olympic Village, building group study rooms with viewing windows, etc. You can see why these women won our Best Local Blogger award, people!

Take note, Rep. Hill: This is bigger than budget shortfalls! Try and rob us of our oral sex experts and the erotic legacy GSU has struggled to build and you will see a protest on the statehouse steps unlike any you’ve ever seen before!

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CL’s Chanté LaGon and Thomas Wheatley discuss our current $2 billion shortfall and why Gov. Sonny Perdue says Georgia will start having to do “less with less.”

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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