As two of the biggest states in the country, their economies 'may be canaries in the coal mine,' one economist notes The economies of California and New York could be proverbial canaries in the coal mine. New York and California are struggling economically - and if things get worse in those states, they could take the whole U.S. economy down with them. The two states aren't doing as poorly as the 22 that are currently in recession, according to a recent study by Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. The implication of Zandi's research is that the national economy would submerge under the waves if either ... (full story)