Too clever by half
by David Gergen

Caught in their worst budget crisis since the Depression, state governments across the land are taking desperate measures. Oregon has cut teachers' pay, and parents are now selling their own blood to raise money to help out. Texas is reducing healthcare benefits for 275,000 children. Kentucky is letting people out of prison early. California, Wisconsin, and New Jersey are borrowing against future tobacco-settlement revenues--money once intended for healthcare. In Missouri, state workers are unscrewing every third light bulb to save cash.
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