Gov. Mark Sanford’s call to pay down state debt with federal stimulus cash could get a boost.

South Carolina Treasurer Converse Chellis wants the state to hold off paying a $176,500 bonus to the man chiefly responsible for making the state’s retirement investment decisions.

Now that the country is in a recession, some families barely are hanging on to their middle-class lives. Others have lost their grip. Parents say they worry most about the negative effects on their children.

A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis says the Treasury Department is reviewing the pay package for a retiring South Carolina banker whose company is seeking money from the federal bailout program. The review was requested earlier this month by Inglis and Gov. Mark Sanford, both Republicans.

The Dow slipped 189 points, Asian markets rallied, Russia and Indonesia remained closed after the Fed and six other banks slashed interest rates.

The top congressional budget analyst says pension plans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months.