Brother, can you spare a dime? How about 4,290 dimes?

By our calculations, this year's $11.2 billion state budget deficit – the number is a moving target – works out to $429 for every adult in the state.

That's 26.1 million adults, including homeless and Silicon Valley execs; movie stars and farmworkers; students and prisoners.

We asked some people how that $429 would fit into their lives. Here's some of what you told us. Share your opinions in the Capitol and California forum at www.sacbee.com/forums.

• James DenBoer, Sacramento poet: DenBoer is on a fixed income – a pension and Social Security – but could probably come up with that if he had to. He has other plans. "That's a plane flight to Mexico," he said. He's headed there for a conference of Mexican and American poets.

• Peter Lorenzo, Roseville retired political science professor: Wouldn't mind giving up another $429 to the state, if it's done right. "If it's a graduated income tax, yes," he said. Just not a regressive sales, auto or property tax. To Lorenzo, the money would represent a hunk out of his contribution to his 6-year-old grandson's college fund.

• Keith Weber, North Highlands businessman: "The real problem is we spend more money than we get in," Weber said. He thinks the Legislature and governor should just mandate across-the-board cuts. "That's what we have to do in business," he said. "We get creative." In his business, it meant changing his phone service to save somewhere near $429. Personally, it would mean parking his 1975 RV for a year to save registration and operating costs.

• Marc Torrant, Sacramento engineer for Intel: Torrant could envision paying his share for this year, but wondered if it would be repeated. "Do I have to break my checkbook out because they can't balance the budget?" He also wondered about what his $429 would go to. "Certain things, I don't mind paying for." On a personal level, $429 is "a flight home to see my family in New York, which I try to do a couple of times a year."

• Robert Tuffree, California student: Tuffree said he'd have to miss a student loan payment to put up $429. He favors cutting social programs instead. "There's too many freebies going on that aren't necessary."

• Don and Gwen Kline, Sacramento building industry business owners: The Klines had a bit of a difference of opinion between them. Don said flatly, "no," they couldn't put up the money, while his wife demurred, "We're OK." Don Kline said the business is off 80 percent this year. To pay $858 (twice $429), "that would mean we're living on cat food," he said. But his wife voiced a willingness to help. "I think we all need to come up a little bit with something," she said. "Where they're cutting is just horrible."

• Randolph Harris, CSU Sacramento student: Harris laughed when asked if he could give up $429 to balance the budget. "That would … (equal) like rent, car payment, insurance, groceries, one of these." He has a different budget solution. "The governor can host a fundraiser where he'd invite celebrities and billionaires and charge them $100,000 a plate. It would be for the state, so maybe they'd be willing to do it."

• Francesca Loftis, Somerset retired executive: Loftis wants to see the plan for using her $429. "I do not mind paying taxes, but I look at everything as if it is a business. When I make an investment, I look at the return on the dollar." She said her husband just blew $1,600 on headers for his Corvette. She also thinks of the $429 in terms of the cost of high-speed Internet service or a year's gym membership.

• Steve Burke, Elk Grove State Water Resources employee: Burke said he can't spare it, especially if he's going to take a pay cut. The money represents cutting out cable TV to him, but he doesn't consider that the answer. "They need to cut spending, not collect money from us." Some of his money has gone to frivolous things, though not directly. His college student son, who gets an allowance, recently went to Mazatlán on a cruise. "I'd say he lives a little large for a college student."

• Mary Meinert Case, Tahoe Park real estate appraiser: "We can't let people fall by the wayside," Case said. "I'm serious. If it was a one-time tax, I'd pay it. I really would if it were a way to avoid disaster." She said she might have to put it on her credit card since, as an appraiser, she's currently out of work and living on retirement income. She admits to having spent a lot to go to England and Ireland in the summer because she didn't know when she'd be able to do it again. "We're staying home next summer. We've cut back. We have to." But she's willing to pay more taxes. "I want good roads. I want good schools. I want good health care."

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcalá, (916) 321-1987. Staff writers Anita Creamer, Rachael Bogert, Gina Kim, Bob Walter, Loretta Kalb and Cathy Locke contributed to this report.