What’s a family to do?  Published: Thursday, May 13, 2010 at
9:19 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 9:19 a.m.  In
trying to explain this budget mess they helped to make, the
governor and legislators often compare the state’s gloomy fiscal
situation to a family on hard times struggling to make ends
meet.  In these parables, the hard-pressed family, representing
state government, doesn’t run up its credit cards or look for
handouts.  Why, they tighten their belts, cut out frills and
work overtime. The moral of the story is that, instead of
raising taxes, state government needs to live within its means,
just like an average family. Simple as that.  But anyone who has
spent time around a kitchen table knows families are more
complicated than that, as are the state’s finances.  So let’s
continue with our family’s story, for there is a lot more to it.
It’s a big brood, from the college student down to the toddler,
and Mom and Dad run the neighborhood hardware store.  When
business boomed after the hurr