Why the World Should Worry About California

It faces the same troubles that shook Greece
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 11, 2010 4:40 PM CDT
Why the World Should Worry About California
A young girl jumps off of a sand berm during sunset in San Diego.   (AP Photo/Sandy Huffaker)

Greece's financial trouble may have seemed far off before it helped send the stock market into a tizzy. Business Insider says the same kind of mess could easily hit even closer to home, in California. A sampling of its 16 reasons:

  • Even after last year's huge cuts, the state still has a $20 billion budget gap. And that doesn't include "nearly $200 billion in loans and other unstated debt."
  • The state, which has the lowest S&P debt rating of any state, also is home to seven of the nation's most unemployed cities.

  • Like Greece, which was hamstrung by the euro, "California "has no central bank and can't print money to stave off debt." European leaders came together for a bailout, but can you imagine "our fractious Congress" doing the same?
  • The state led the way in home foreclosures in February, with about 70,000.
  • It used to be No. 1 in per-pupil spending. Now it's No. 48.
Read the full list here.
(More California stories.)

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