Bloomberg: New Jersey Considering Privatizing Roads as Funds Dry Up

State budget impasse hits some people hard

(09-17) 04:00 PDT Sacramento - --

Sudha Gupta hasn't received a paycheck since July 31, but each day she and the 22 other teachers at Creative Montessori Learning Center in East Palo Alto dutifully come to work to serve 200 mostly low-income preschoolers.

Gupta and her colleagues don't work for the state, but they are among a growing number of Californians whose everyday lives - and pocketbooks - are being impacted by the impasse over the state budget, which is now 79 days late.

Even though most bills are still being paid, California law prohibits state Controller John Chiang from making certain payments unless a budget is in place. The losers in the governor's and Legislature's delay in passing a budget include health clinics that serve the poor, college students who qualify for financial aid, and state-funded child-development programs, which serve more than 270,000 children statewide.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/16/MN5P1FDA73.DTL#ixzz100dUmesY