Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Some Republican governors are saying "thanks, but no thanks" to federal bailout money, even after meeting with the president today. But Utah's Republican governor isn't one of them.
Gov. Jon Huntsman says the money has already been packaged for the states, so why not take it? But he tells CNN it's fine with him if other states don't take it. "It's pretty simple, in my mind: If you don't want the money, don't take the money," he said.
Huntsman continued, "We've gotta take a step back, look at this dispassionately and begin to put people first. What is right for the people in our states? And how do we maintain schools and basic health care and housing, which is the most important need that any individual has?"
When asked if you can get out of a hole by raising taxes, Huntsman said it depends on what the hole is. He says each state has to determine tax issues by the budgets they face.
E-mail: cwall@ksl.com
