States across the country are in financial distress. More than half of them are facing shortfalls in their budgets for this year and next. And with times so lean there's not much fat left for governors to cut. While some governors are choosing to implement deep cuts in long-standing government programs, others are opting to enter a strange new world of taxable items (iTunes downloads anyone?). For a look at the budgetary challenges that many states face in 2009, The Takeaway checks in with New Jersey's Governor Jon Corzine and Governor Jim Doyle of Wisconsin. Last week they testified before Congress, pleading for Federal help. This week they are here on The Takeaway.

What would you tax to balance the books? »

The disputed Minnesota Senate race is now closer that it's ever been. Incumbent Republican Norm Coleman leads Democratic challenger Al Franken by two votes. Late yesterday the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that improperly rejected absentee ballots should be included in the state's recount. That means the winner will not be declared until the first week of the new year at the earliest. Tom Scheck, a reporter with Minnesota Public Radio, joins The Takeaway with the latest.

Across the country, state governments are trying to cope with severe budgetary shortages. The solution: taxes! Whether you call them fee hikes or revenue enhancements, we are seeing ideas that range from a real bummer to downright odd. Everything is on the table to increase tax revenues including sugary drinks and iTunes downloads. The Takeaway talks to Steven Zelin, a Certified Public Accountant in New York, who sings about taxes. No, really.

To download an mp3 of the soon-to-be hit "Giving All My Money to the Man" click here.

Still want more from the Singing CPA, check out his website.

President-elect Barack Obama will announce his selection of Republican Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood as his transportation secretary today. While LaHood will be the second Republican in Obama's cabinet, he is known as a moderate willing to work across party lines. But he has a weak record on the environment and hasn't been a mass transit advocate. Tanya Koonce, News Director of WCBU in Peoria, gives The Takeaway a briefing on her hometown congressman.

What is an “orderly” bankruptcy? It's the phrase that the Big Three U.S. automakers were throwing around yesterday with the White House. Apparently it’s one option available to aide GM and Chrysler. White House. The White House confirmed yesterday that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was considering the unusual option to help bail out the auto industry. The Takeaway talks to David Sanger, Chief Washington Correspondent for the New York Times, to explain this new option.

The profits on Wall Street are long gone. This week, Goldman Sachs, a longtime top performer, reported a quarterly loss of more than $2 BILLION, which is its first quarterly loss since going public nine years ago. While you would expect there would be no bonuses to executives at Goldman and other banks, that is not the case. Executives at banks that ran into the ground took home hundreds of millions. Now there are questions about what role those lavish bonuses played in the banks', and the economy's, collapse. Louise Story is covering this story for our partner the New York Times.

For more on this story, read Louise Story's article in the New York Times, On Wall Street, Bonuses, Not Profits, Were Real .

When Big Three automakers went to Capitol Hill to plead for a bailout they used two words that are bound to inspire fear: Ripple Effect. We're taking a look at how grim news from the auto industry is rippling through the larger economy. The Takeaway talks to Kirk Lewis, President of the Bing Group in Detroit, which manufactures auto parts for GM and Ford.

Ed Genson defended R. Kelly and Conrad Black, not to mention countless mobsters and disgraced pols.

An organic farmer and an environmental advocate discuss the pros and cons of Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack as head of the USDA.

Americans are driving less and less and Congress appears to be making plans to keep pace with the times and start expanding their funding of public transportation. The Transportation Department is asking for proposals to develop high-speed rail service along 10 corridors around the U.S. The Takeaway talks to Representative John Mica (R-FL), the Republican Leader of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Until Bernard Madoff made off with billions in investor savings, the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history was the Bayou Group scam. Investor Samuel Israel III swindled investors out of 400 million dollars and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in April. An interesting precedent was set when that case went to court. Investors who had cashed out of Bayou early were forced to return their money. Will the same thing happen again? The Takeaway talks to Phil Bentley, a bankruptcy litigator with Kramer Levin in New York City. He represented seventy investors who pulled out of the Bayou group early.

Illinois state legislators began impeachment hearings against embattled Governor Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday, but the proceedings were stopped after just one hour. It seems that Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald would like to know who the lawmakers are planning to ask to testify, to make sure that their hearings will not interfere with his case. Amanda Vinicky, Statehouse Reporter for Illinois Public Radio, joins The Takeaway with the latest.

Last week legendary trader Bernie Madoff was arrested and charged with securities fraud. Today the reverberations of Madoff's historic scheming are being felt far beyond Wall Street. The nonprofits have been hit hard. For a look at what this means for philanthropies and those who benefit from their good works, The Takeaway checks in with Robert Crane, president and CEO of the JEHT Foundation. The foundation, whose funds were managed by Madoff, will close its doors in January.

Foreign carmakers have constructed massive plants in the South that now produce one-third of all cars manufactured on our shores.

Today the president-elect is expected to name Arne Duncan, superintendent of the Chicago public school system, as secretary of education. Veronica Anderson, editor-in-chief of Catalyst Chicago, a magazine that reports on school reform, gives The Takeaway a full briefing on the new educator-in-chief.

The price of gas is dropping, but statistics show Americans are clocking fewer miles on the road.

Trader Bernard Madoff has been accused of cheating investors of $50 billion.

With a president, vice president and a secretary of state nominee all coming from the U.S. Senate, three state governors will have the chance to choose their replacements.

The Illinois General Assembly meets today to consider how best to remove Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich and how to fill the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Amanda Vinicky, statehouse reporter for Illinois Public Radio, joins The Takeaway with an update from the state capital.

Most Ponzi schemes are short lived. Financial watchdogs, investors or the FBI normally sniff out the crook and the scheme collapses. But that's not the case with Wall Street legend Bernard Madoff, who was arrested late last week and accused of putting on one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in the history of Wall Street. Diana Henriques of The New York Times wrote Sunday's piece, "The 17th Floor, Where Wealth Went to Vanish"