Less and less people are buying it

Day 36 without a real budget.  The Governor has gotten himself into further trouble.  He said that he would veto all but about 75 lines of the 700 line budget, leaving about 20% of the spending number intact for just basic operations so that state employees could be paid.  This is arguably a very bad decision in itself.  He has the opportunity to include much of the budget, get kids to college this fall, pay counties the money they are owed, pay for many of the social service agencies that are preparing to close down and many other budget items that could and should be back on a regular payment system.  Instead, he signed a budget with about 40% of the total proposed spending by selecting programs, that for some reason, he thought should get their funding and lining out many programs that he thought would generate the most heat on legislators.  In other words, now that state employees can’t be pawns, he’ll make the 500 public school districts,  mentally and physically challenged folks,  college students and local governments pawns.  Again, just like in the case of the state workers, this is his sole decision.  He can try to blame the legislature for his poor judgment, but less and less people are buying it.

- John