Deal’s cutbacks could hobble state’s recovery

Some companies have stalled contract work in Massachusetts because of the debt ceiling debate and legislation the House has now passed.  

Alan Clayton-Matthews, an economics professor at Northeastern University, said the cutbacks could hamper the state’s economic recovery as well as the country’s. Clayton-Matthews calculated that Massachusetts could lose an estimated $18 billion in federal dollars by the end of the next decade, when the spending cuts wind down. Though the federal cuts will probably not force the state or the country back into a recession, Clayton-Matthews said, he disagrees with economists who believe lowering the deficit will hasten a recovery by encouraging businesses to borrow and grow. [Full Article: Boston Globe]