The Macon Telegraph ran an article yesterday about how federal budget cuts are imperiling a drug/violent crime prevention program called the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program. This program gives grants to states to establish state and regional drug task forces that form partnerships between area sheriffs offices and local police departments. And the program has been particularly successful in Georgia. Sen.

Testifying before the Joint Economic Committee on Thursday, Nobel Laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz said that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could cost more than $3 trillion. Stiglitz's testimony is based on research that was released as a book, The Three Trillion Dollar War, on Friday. Coauthored with Harvard University professor Linda Bilmes, the book estimates that when interest expenses on the deficit spending used to finance the war and other costs, like health care benefits for wounded veterans, are calculated, the wars' costs could range from $5 to $7 trillion. McClatchy:

A new report out from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities last Friday explores the use of economic stimulus packages (i.e. tax cuts) at the state level, which have been proposed in seven states. CBPP concludes tax cuts are not an effective economic stimulus at the state level, and may in fact hurt state economies. From the report: Policymakers in many states are proposing tax cuts or rebates that they hope will "stimulate" their state economies, often citing the federal stimulus bill as both a model and a reason to support such a plan. Leaders have issued such proposals in Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, among others. But state tax cuts would do little or nothing to boost a state's economy. In fact, they reflect a misunderstanding of how state governments can best respond to a recession. The report outlines six recommendations for actions states can take to boost their economies. CBPP: FISCAL STIMULUS AT THE STATE LEVEL

The Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing yesterday on defense contracting. It turns out that at least one contractor in Iraq - one receiving hundreds of billions of dollars from the government - is slightly less than "cost effective."