Painful: what an all-cuts budget really looks like. Plus: health care and services, unemployment, taxes and pre-k

Goodbye to BHP, GAU and huge parts of public health?: It’s just a budget drill, but if the $8 billion budget shortfall didn’t get the attention of legislators, the budget-cutting exercise will. | The News Tribune

State budget might take billions from health care, services: Budget cuts under consideration by a state House subcommittee include more than $2 billion in reductions in health care and human services, potentially twice as many cuts in health care as what Gov. Chris Gregoire proposed. | The Olympian

Report: US on short end of health care ‘value gap’: If the global economy were a 100-yard dash, the U.S. would start 23 yards behind its closest competitors because of health care that costs too much and delivers too little, a business group says in a report to be released Thursday. | Seattle Times

Goodman and Moynihan: Single-payer concept gets no respect: President Barack Obama promises health care reform, but he has taken single-payer health care off the table. Single-payer is the system that removes private insurance companies from the picture; the government pays all the bills, but health care delivery remains private. | Seattle Post-Intelligencer

National jobless rate could hit 10% in 2009: A growing number of states suffered double-digit unemployment rates in January, and others are close behind, buttressing fears that the national jobless rate could hit 10 percent by year’s end. | Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Jobless claims rise as retail sales slip: With layoffs spreading, the number of initial claims for jobless benefits rose last week, while the total number of people continuing to receive benefits set a record high, the government said Thursday. | Seattle Times

Senate passes bill to reduce unemployment taxes: Washington businesses could see a reduction in how much they are required to pay in unemployment insurance taxes, under a bill passed Wednesday night by the Senate. | Seattle Times

Pre-K Expansions: Pledges and Rhetoric vs. Hard Reality: As President Barack Obama pledges to invest in early childhood education, it’s important to keep the focus on the thousands of children across the U.S. who could truly benefit from public pre-kindergarten programs but are not being served. | Early Ed Coverage