the Depression2013

On November 18, 2009, the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO), California's Nonpartisan Fiscal and Policy Advisor issued its "2010-11 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook," showing the following:

- a $20.7 billion "budget problem" from late November to when the Legislature enacts its 2010-11 state budget; addressing it will require painful choices besides ones already adopted;

- LAO cites "failed budget solutions responsible for" the current crisis; as a result, a huge deficit hole must be plugged and an even bigger one coming in 2012-13 when local government loans must be repayed pursuant to Proposition 1A (2004); federal ones as well in 2011;

- "In the coming years, (additional) major state spending programs will have to be significantly reduced," and new revenues added as little help from Washington is expected; and

- LAO sees a continuing budget problem of around $20 billion "for years to come," saying "as the nation goes, so goes California."

In US politics, an old saying in presidential races (no longer true) was that "As Maine goes, so goes the nation." Economically, perhaps as California goes, the nation follows, given the state's importance and deep distress. It's real unemployment rate way exceeds 20%, by some measures third worst in the nation behind Michigan and Oregon.

Some other disquieting facts are as follows:

- US households are burdened with the most severe poverty, joblessness, hunger, homelessness, and level of foreclosures and threatened personal bankruptcies since the Great Depression - with no planned relief measures to help;

- the National Academy of Science calculates 47.4 million Americans, 15% of the population, impoverished in 2008; the true number is much higher since the government's income threshold is $22,000 for a family of four, an amount way inadequate throughout urban America where even half again as much is too little;

- the US Department of Agriculture reported that a record 49.1 million people lacked dependable access to food in 2008;

- a new Brookings Institution-First Focus study reported seven million more food stamp recipients in August 2009 than a year earlier, the number reaching 36.5 million under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);

- a January 2, 2010 New York Times article reported a surge in food stamp demand with six million Americans receiving them saying they have no other income - no welfare, no unemployment insurance, no pensions, no child support, no disability pay, and no other form of help;