Washington to California: Drop Dead

If the saying "As California goes, so goes the nation" has any credence whatsoever, then what kind of a situation does this latest article from Politico indicate? [Hint: It could be "we're screwed."] Here's hoping California can straighten itself out, and that the rest of the country can figure out ways to avoid getting into the same kind of situation on a smaller scale...although it may be too late to hope for that.

With California’s state government deadlocked over a $24 billion hole in its budget, the Golden State is hurtling toward financial apocalypse.

Washington’s response? Deal with it yourselves.

California is the world’s 8th-largest economy, home to one out of every eight Americans and the holder of 55 electoral votes. The state enjoys incredible sway on Capitol Hill — witness Friday’s passage of the climate change bill championed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) — and it may hold the key to President Barack Obama’s re-election: California’s fiscal pain could imperil the economic recovery of the entire nation.