\u201cThe ability of the states to meet their obligations to public employees, to creditors and most critically to the education and well-being of their citizens is threatened,\u201d\u009d warned the chairmen of the task force, Richard Ravitch, a former lieutenant governor of New York, and Paul A. Volcker, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n
The report added a strong dose of fiscal pessimism just as many states have seen their immediate budget pressures begin to ease. And it called into question how states will restore the services they have cut during the downturn, saying that the loss of jobs in prisons, hospitals, courts and agencies have been more severe than in any of the past nine recessions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a fundamental shift in the way governments have responded to recessions and appears to signal a willingness to \u201d\u02dcunbuild\u2019 state government in a way that has not been done before,\u201d\u009d it said, noting that court systems had cut their hours in many states, delaying actions including divorce settlements and criminal trials.<\/p>\n