Though state officials have faced difficult choices as they struggle to finalize 2010 budgets across the country, it’s clear the task would have been even more grim without a crucial infusion of federal money. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, as dire as the states’ fiscal condition is – with dramatic revenue downturns leading in some cases to unprecedented service cuts – evidence shows this bad situation would be substantially worse if not for the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act package enacted in February.
