Budget Breakthrough?

Well, Ahnald and the CA legislative leaders have come up with a budget fix. Note that neither the state senate or assembly have voted on it yet.

Somehow, they've come up with $23b of cuts, raids on local government and accounting tricks to close the gap. Some of the proposals will be lasting while others merely push the problem into the future.

As a Libertarian, I like shrinking the state government and pushing services to the cities. This way the cities can implement the programs their citizens want and tax them appropriately. But, I hate the extra borrowing as that will hamstring the budget for the foreseeable future.

Of course now there is going to be tons of screaming and lawsuits about the cuts. Every government program has passionate sponsors who feel that life as we know it and modern civilization will collapse if it's cut or eliminated. However, right now the citizens of the state (or, at least the minority that elects republicans, who have outsized power over the state given their numbers) have proven unwilling to pay more for state services. This will change the reach of the state in terms of providing programs and subsidizing college education.

What will be interesting is how much individuals and the private sector will make up the difference. Will more parents volunteer at their kids' schools?; Boy Scout troops clean up state parks? Large companies develop more welfare-to-work opportunities?; People quit having kids they can't afford?

I know that we'll definitely keep the HB in private school. And I'll continue to tutor at the local public school.