State legislators are now 76 days late in deciding on a budget. That's appalling. Even they seem to be appalled.
On Friday, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata said he was giving up on passing the kind of budget he and other Democrats prefer and would propose one with no tax hikes and limited borrowing.
What would such a budget entail? Could you live with it? What sort of cuts and tricks would be involved in bridging the entire $15.2 billion budget gap? What would that do to schools, or to local governments, or to health care?
These are some of the decisions lawmakers are confronting and avoiding. They're also some of the same choices you'll face if you play the California Budget Challenge, a nonpartisan, Web-based tool that allows you to create your own state budget. Find it at www.next10.org.
Created by a nonprofit group called Next 10, the Budget Challenge is a smartly designed high-tech tool that lets you try your hand at doing better than the Legislators has done. It takes you through a series of questions on state spending and revenues.
Which programs would you reduce or expand? Which kind of tax would you endorse if you want to raise revenues? What happens if you borrow more?
Along the way, you learn about the history of spending formulas and program mandates that complicate easy decisions.
At the end of the process, you'll have your own state budget – one that reflects your priorities. At that point, by clicking on the "Take Action" button at the Next10 Web site, you can e-mail your preferred budget to your local state senator and Assembly member.
But instead of performing this exercise by yourself, do it with some friends and neighbors. Throw a Budget Challenge bash. A break-the-impasse party.
Pull together 10 people of diverse viewpoints and backgrounds. Ideally, six will be Democrats. Four will be Republicans.
Then, to simulate what happens in the Legislature, see if you can get seven members of your group to decide on a budget.
Feel free to enjoy a few drinks while debating your choices, but don't drink too much. Things could get testy.
But we suspect you'll reach a responsible resolution sooner – and with less bloodshed – than the current cast at the Capitol.
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
• If you've sent a message to your Assembly member or state senator about the budget, send it to us, with your name and city, and any response you received. We'll start publishing the first batch of messages to lawmakers Monday. Send them to topics@sacbee.com or Opinion Pages, The Sacramento Bee, P.O. Box 15779, Sacramento CA 95852.
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