Massachusetts budget cuts: Biggest in 20 years

[The Northerner]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Massachusetts is bracing for the biggest budget cuts in 20 years...even as its tax revenues are on the rise.

Gov. Deval Patrick on Wednesday unveiled a fiscal 2012 spending plan that would slash $570 million, or 1.8%, from last year's budget, hitting social services, health care and aid to municipalities in particular.

Among the cuts:

* Closing two prisons
* Reducing state aid by $65 million
* Shedding as many as 900 jobs, adding to the 5,900 eliminated since late 2008.
* Eliminating employment services for those on transitional assistance
* Cutting benefits for those enrolled in MassHealth, the state's Medicaid program
* Slashing $23 million in spending on emergency homeless shelters

But the news isn't all bad. The budget calls for providing record levels of funding for K-12 education and maintaining its commitment to lower the corporate tax rate to 8.25%, from 8.75%.

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/26/news/economy/Massachusetts_Patrick_budget/