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- THE WEEK, Page 16NATIONState of Suspense
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- Sacramento tries a Depression-era gimmick: IOUs to pay its bills
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- As if drought, earthquakes, fire and floods weren't enough,
- there was the recession and the riots and, now, for the first
- time since the Great Depression, no more money. The beleaguered
- state of California has run out of cash and is paying its bills
- with IOUS.
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- The controller's office in Sacramento sent out the first
- 12,000 of the IOUs, euphemistically labeled registered warrants,
- after the Democratic-led state assembly failed to reach
- agreement with Republican Governor Pete Wilson on how to erase
- a $10.7 billion shortfall in the latest state budget. Most of
- the IOUS were for income tax refunds, but within days the state
- will begin using the warrants to pay 34,000 part-time
- employees. Most major banks are honoring the notes for now, but
- they make no long-term promises. The budget impasse has left
- thousands of state workers wondering whether the eventual
- settlement will leave them without jobs; unemployment figures
- released last week put the jobless rate in the state at 9.5%.
- Meanwhile, if the budget battle is not resolved by the end of
- this month, California may be forced to close schools, parks and
- libraries.
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