TO A POINT: State: that's no way to run a business

I can't read the state news stories anymore. If it's not a story about our bungled election system (seriously, how could it swing so far?!), it's a story about how messed up our state finances are.
I want to see some fixes, and I want to see them now. Are you with me?
I'm the first person to say we need to cut government spending. The government takes one-third of our paychecks – that's excessive if you ask me, and grounds for another tea party in Boston's bay. But when the state starts taking away money it promised a year ago from local counties and cities, I can't condone that. It's bad budgeting.
What do we expect local government bodies to do when suddenly, at the end of the year, they discover that the money they planned on last year (because the state told them it was coming) now isn't? They're out hundreds of thousands of dollars. Braham lost $36,293, Cambridge $207,383, Harris $19,519, Isanti $112,316, North Branch $162,324, and Rush City $39,296. Local counties were also touched. Isanti County lost $278,157 and Chisago County $539,395.
There's no way to raise the levy now to cover the shortfall. Instead, these local cities and counties are now in the red. Their budgets look bad, and they'll have to raise taxes to cover not just one shortfall, but most likely two. The 2009 levy is already set, as well, and the state is predicting it will cut what counties and cities expected to get this year too, perhaps by as much as half. At least they have more than a few weeks to prepare for this next decrease. They can adjust their budgets down now. Perhaps that's what the governor is aiming for.…
I hope he's taking aim at those state figures, as well.
I feel pretty confident that the majority of spending my local government bodies do is not wasteful. I don't have that same confidence about the state. I see waste all over the place, in fact. On top of that, I don't see them taking care of what I consider to be essential services, such as making sure our roads and bridges are up to par and installing high-speed transit.
People, we can't expect to get everything. There is a limited amount of money (despite how the treasury is acting as it just keeps printing more and more soon-to-be-worthless cash). Let's start making things pay for themselves. If it brings in a profit, then it can afford a new laboratory. If we want art and music in our lives, let's support it by buying tickets to events. If we really want a new pool, users need to be prepared to pay for the cost of maintaining it.
It's the same principle I apply in my own life. If I want something bad enough, I start putting away my pennies to save up for it.
It's time our state and federal government remember that lesson. It's time they remember they're not spending money that comes from somewhere out there. They're spending our money.