The so-called pay-go rule in the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 — which required increases in spending or decreases in revenue to be offset by other spending cuts or revenue increases — helped lead to the surpluses that arose in the late 1990s.
The region recorded a 2.6% decrease in revenues to $44bn – the first yearly decline after a decade of explosive growth.
The most recent of these was J.C. Penney on Thursday, which reported a 6.8% decrease in revenues to $4.1 billion and a 49.6% decrease in profit to $120.0 million for the first quarter of 2008.
Some Yuma businesses had noticed a decrease in revenue at this time; the Arizona Highway Department agreed to modify some signs to eliminate any confusion.
The $220 million Peter Berg-directed science fiction movie "Battleship" did poorly at the box office, contributing to a 1.8 percent decrease in revenue at the company's filmed entertainment unit.
Essence had an 11.7 percent decrease in ad pages and a 5.5 percent decrease in ad revenue, to $24.6 million, in the second quarter, compared with $26 million in the second quarter of 2012.
Also, many speculate that there will likely be no pay increase in the near future because of the projected decrease in revenue due to tax cuts.
For the third quarter, Disney reported a 7% decrease in media revenue to $41.2 million.
Universities UK, the body which represents vice-chancellors, for instance, is sharply critical of Labour's pledge to reduce fees from £9,000 to £6,000 a year, fearing an incoming government will not make up the decrease in revenue from fees to universities.
Update: As a comment points out, Google saw a 3% decrease in revenue from Q42008 to Q12009, but saw a 6% growth year over year for Q1.
