Report: RI faces budget disaster

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California's ongoing fiscal crisis has attracted national attention, but a study warns that nine other states are barreling toward similar economic disaster.

A report released Wednesday by the Pew Center on the States says
Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin also are at risk of fiscal calamity.

That could mean higher taxes, more layoffs of government employees, increasingly crowded classrooms and fewer services in states that account for more than one-third of America's population and economic output.

Most of the states face rising unemployment and high home foreclosure rates, and their revenues have dropped by double-digit percentages.

The analysis urges lawmakers and governors to take quick action to prevent economic catastrophe.