Utah Pulls The Plug On The Four-Day Workweek

The crisis in the states has led to some testy confrontations and creative thinking. Perhaps the most famous showdown came in Wisconsin, when Gov. Scott Walker sought to end collective bargaining rights in a bid to combat a budget shortfall. While some questioned the logic of his argument, no one had any doubt that he was at least onto something with regards to the shortfall.

Three years into the financial crisis, 42 states and the District of Columbia have closed, or are working to close, $103 billion in budget gaps for fiscal year 2012. And as of the first quarter of 2011, revenues remained roughly 9 percent below pre-recession levels, according to a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).