Smoke, mirrors and shiny objects or a balanced budget

Lily Robertson has some advice for state budget writers at Seacoast Online:

Here’s a wild thought. How about acting like a responsible family? If you can’t afford something, don’t spend money on it. Maybe the new X-Box will have to wait another five months. Maybe the bridge restoration project will have to wait until next spring. When things get tight for a family, the parents don’t make the kids start forking over their Birthday money from Grandma. They just don’t go to the movie on Friday because they can’t afford it right now. The kids didn’t get the family into debt. The adults who didn’t spend the family budget responsibly got the family into debt.