Wisconsin lawmakers seem incapable of making the tough decisions they need to balance the budget. They are too scared of voter backlash to either cut services or raise taxes to balance the budget, instead they've devised a series of accounting gimmicks that give the appearance of a balanced budget.
For instance, Republicans in the Assembly want to put off paying for this years school aid until next year. Democrats want to borrow against the money the state won in lawsuits against tobacco companies, which will provide the state with money now, but millions less than they were entitled to. The Governor wants to take real money out of the transportation fund to balance the budget, and borrow money to fix the state's ailing infrastructure.
Every suggestion just leaves the next budget in worse shape, and puts off the real hard decisions for another session of the legislature. Perhaps the thinking is if they put off their obligations for several more years, the economy will rebound and and revenue will increase. But I don't want to bet on that horse.
And speaking of sports, the formerly named "Devil" Rays of Tampa, have a winning record after 40 games for the first time in the organizations history.
Good for them.
And here is the rough of that cartoon.
As a Detroit Tigers fan, it's good to know that somebody is winning baseball games.
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