Friday, September 4, 2009

States Shut Down to Save Cash

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125202235182685075.html

California drivers can't line up to renew their licenses Friday. Wisconsin natives can't order copies of their birth certificates. Georgia consumers will have to postpone registering complaints with state watchdogs. And stranded motorists in Maryland may have to wait a little longer for highway-department help.

Across the country, cash-strapped state governments are shutting down business for a day at a time to save money. State offices are shuttered Friday in California, Maine, Maryland and Michigan. Rhode Island had planned to join them until a judge on Thursday blocked its closure plan.

Some state agencies are closed in Georgia and Wisconsin, and most Colorado state offices will be shuttered