The Huffington Post reported that six republican governors have considered turning down money from the federal stimulus package.

A handful of Republican governors are considering turning down some money from the federal stimulus package, a move opponents say puts conservative ideology ahead of the needs of constituents struggling with record foreclosures and soaring unemployment.

Though none has outright rejected the money available for education, health care and infrastructure, the governors of Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alaska, South Carolina and Idaho have all questioned whether the $787 billion bill signed into law this week will even help the economy.

I am really dumbfounded that anyone would consider this an option and agree with Atlantic blogger, Ta-Nahisi Coates, that this is “politically stupid.”

How do you tell your citizens, yes the federal government was going to give us billions to repair our schools and create jobs, but I said no? Especially given the economic conditions of these states:

Unemployment Rates

• South Carolina - 9.5 percent (Ranked 49^th)
• Mississippi - 8.0 percent (Ranked 40^th)
• Alaska - 7.5 percent (Ranked 35^th)
• Idaho - 6.4 percent (Ranked 22^nd)
• Texas - 6.0 percent (Ranked 17^th)
• Louisiana - 5.9 percent (Ranked 16^th)

This is probably just a play for press coverage. But if they are seriously considering refusing the money, they should listen to constituents like Ruby who wrote the following comment to this post:

Governor Stanford,
Given the percentages of the unemployment rate in South Carolina and the number of families who will, if not already, lose their homes through unemployment, how will you help these people stay in their homes. Building one retail mall will not cut it. Maybe you and your supporters are feeling the pressure of a failing economy but believe there are more people who would benefit from the stimulus package than from your pride and possible other hangups. That old southern mentality needs to be put on the shelf. The good ole boys way of thinking will get the people of S.C. nowhere, unless of course you have a few billion dollars lying around to bail out the people in S.C.

Today the National Governors Association (NGA) and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) called on Congress and the next administration to assist states and localities through a new stimulus package.  According to NGA:

Twenty states already have cut $7.6 billion from their fiscal year (FY) 2009 budgets, and 30 states have identified additional shortfalls totaling more than $30 billion. Twenty-five states also have identified shortfalls of $60 billion for FY 2010. However, these numbers tell only a portion of the story, with previous budget actions and the continuing downturn producing cumulative budget gaps of more than $140 billion for FY 2009 and FY 2010. Additionally, states feel the greatest impact on their budgets in the year after a recession ends, primarily because Medicaid growth occurs late in the recession and employment growth lags the recovery. Thus, the repercussions of this downturn will last for several years-and will be much worse without swift action.

While most state leaders are pleased with President-elect Obama’s plan to boost the economy by “creating and saving 2.5 million jobs, jobs rebuilding our infrastructure, our roads, bridges, modernizing our schools and creating the clean energy infrastructure of the 21st century,” one governor said no thanks.

South Carolina Governor Mark Stanford has vocally opposed all federal bailouts, including those that would provide funds for his state. In a November op/ed in the Wall Street Journal, Stanford wrote:

I find myself in a lonely position. While many states and local governments are lining up for a bailout from Congress, I went to Washington recently to oppose such bailouts. I may be the only governor to do so.

What Stanford fails to mention is that his home state of South Carolina has the highest unemployment rate - 8 percent - in the Southeast and the fourth highest in the nation.

When the nation’s governors meet with president-elect Obama tomorrow, let’s hope the new leader will follow the needs of South Carolina residents instead of the wishes of its governor.

News of the Wall Street crisis continues to leave analysts mixed about how deeply it will affect Main Street. But it looks like those on the bottom rungs of the economic ladder will have a tougher climb as the economy could take another turn for the worse.

On the heels of this market meltdown, the findings from a recent Rockefeller Institute of government report are particularly troubling:

In 2006, for the first time since 1983, social welfare spending by state and local governments dropped after adjusting for inflation and the number of people living in poverty-a rough estimate of the real value of such programs for their target populations.

Like I have mentioned before, many states have taken a renewed interest in helping their poorest citizens. Yet, with budget shortfalls at the state and federal level, coupled with a worsening economy, it’s likely that states will have to cut funding even more.