SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Officials are warning that California's economic recovery could come to a halt if Congress and President Barack Obama are unable to avert the "fiscal cliff."
Robert Kleinhenz, chief economist at Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, said Friday that automatic spending cuts would represent a loss of $22.7 billion in gross state product. It would also mean the loss of 225,000 jobs across the state.
California Employment Development Department spokeswoman Loree Levy says about 400,000 unemployed Californians will stop receiving checks at the end of the year unless Washington acts.
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office has already warned that the state could lose as much as $11 billion in tax revenue if the nation fell back into recession. That would wipe out the bulk of tax gains under Proposition 30.
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