California in a "Sophie's Choice" moment...

Interesting article about what's happening with the budget crisis in California in Time Magazine. In part because many other states are not that far behind from where California is financially.

"The current tax and budget system is cruel. It is cruel because it is forcing us to make a Sophie's Choice amongst our obligations. Which child do we cut? Is it the poor one or the sick one? Is it the uneducated one or is it the one with special needs?"

Arnold's choice is clear: to protect he state's vaunted higher education system. In the same week that Schwarzenegger revealed his budget proposal, which calls for deep cuts to health care, social services and public transit, he also proposed a constitutional amendment (yes, another amendment) that would guarantee the state would spend no less than 10% of its general fund on public universities and no more than 7% on state prisons. In his State of the State address, he declared that the state's future economic well-being is dependent on education. "Thirty years ago, 10% of the general fund went to higher education and 3% to prisons," he said. "Today almost 11% goes to prisons and only 7.5% goes to higher education. What does it say about any state that focuses more on prison uniforms than on caps and gowns?"