The state treasury will take in $1.72 billion less next year than initially estimated, the state's top economists decided today, meaning Gov. Jennifer Granholm and lawmakers will need to make another round of deep budget cuts.
The general fund, the state's main checking account, will collect $949 million less than projected a few months ago, and the school aid kitty will be light $733 million, the state treasurer and directors of the Senate and House fiscal agencies agreed during the semi-annual revenue estimating conference.
"The numbers we have now put us back to 1965 when adjusted for inflation, and back then we didn't even have an income tax," Treasurer Bob Kleine said.
The House says $1.58B. The Senate says $2.15B. The optimistic bunch at the Treasury goes with $1.39B. No one knows what a GM bankruptcy will do.
Across the board cuts of 8% are in the works, coming on top of the 4% they just recevied. Ouch.