My family went camping a lot when I was growing up, usually in state parks. We'd swim, paddle, fish, and hike around all day, and in the evening there was nothing like sliced potatoes and onions cooked just right over the campfire.
Those are great (and delicious) memories.
As a kid I didn't think about how state parks were funded.
Yet today I'm reading that some won't be funded at all. Reuters says (5/13) that because of the state's $15-billion budget deficit, "California will close up to 70 of its 278 parks..."
State park closings in California only begin to tell the story of countless state budget cuts all across the country.
Indeed, one state government just shut down:
"Minnesota’s governor and Republican legislators failed to reach an agreement on the state budget, forcing a broad government shutdown...."
CNBC, (7/1)
Minnesota's government reportedly began to shut down on June 30, by closing dozens of highway rest stops, state parks, and campgrounds -- just in time for the otherwise busy Independence Day holiday.
Several other states would also have shut down, but for governors who agreed to strong austerity measures: "Governors in Delaware, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island signed state budgets...many of which sharply reduced funding to education, human services and aid to local governments."
Let's not forget Illinois. A June 24 Bloomberg headline gives a glimpse of its ongoing financial crisis:
"Indebted Illinois Stiffs Creditors From Funeral Homes to Xerox."
The article says the Land of Lincoln is behind on its bills by $4 billion.
Last but not least is the nation's biggest city, with a budget that exceeds some states. This is from another June 24 Bloomberg article:
"New York Council members and unions are grappling over whether to use an insurance fund and cut non- classroom spending to avert Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to fire more than 4,000 teachers to help balance his 2012 budget."
A year ago, the July 2010 Financial Forecast mentioned that municipal budget woes was causing cities to cut back on Fourth of July fireworks. That issue went on to say:
"As the financial fireworks fly higher, many cities and states will eliminate all but the most necessary services. Eventually, some of those will be cut, too."
That's what may be unfolding now.
You see, states and cities took on large obligations when economic times were good, on the assumption that they'd have enough revenue to pay those bills in the future. But now many of those bills are due and they don't have the funds. The economy went south. To extrapolate the present into the future is unwise because trends change.
You need the best method for anticipating major trend changes.
We believe that best method is the Elliott Wave Principle.