The debt-ceiling discussions may be over, but the fallout for states is just starting. Many states, still struggling to recover to pre-recession levels, have depended on federal money to make up their shortfalls. As the flow of money slows, which states will take the biggest hits?
As wages and benefits shrink, state workers are retiring in droves. On top of all the layoffs, these retirements amount to a huge brain drain, and the problem will only get worse given the yawning budget gaps of states from coast to coast.
The notion that somehow public workers' pay packages are breaking the state budget just don't hold up. These workers' entire compensation package -- salary, health care, pensions, etc. -- make up a tiny fraction of Wisconsin's spending.
Since the 1930s, when the National Labor Relations Board was established, no state has ever sought to prohibit workers from organizing. But in Wisconsin, collective-bargaining rights are under "assault," in President Obama's words. And other states are watching.
Mother Nature's fury this winter has left a path of fiscal destruction that will linger far after the record-breaking snowfall starts to melt -- and she's not done yet. But for some businesses, blizzards mean opportunity.
