Courtesy of Whitehouse.gov:

A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future. Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market....

Well that day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our future is here....

From Ezra Klein:

The budget -- and I was cautioned that the wording "is changing hourly" -- will direct Congress to "aim for universality." That is a bolder goal than simple affordability, which can be achieved, at least in theory, through subsidies. Universality means everyone has coverage, not just the ability to access it. And that requires a mechanism to ensure that they have it.

Why are we continually being inundated with these fake "populists" whose agenda (when you get down to it) is nothing but the care and feeding of millionaires?

Is nice to see all the concern about banks teetering on the edge. But despite all the theatrics recently in the House Financial Services Committee about corporate jets and girl scout cookies, where are the proposals for legislation to help prevent this from occurring again?

Did contact from the FBI prompt Burris to change his tune? From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Authorities interviewed Burris at his lawyer’s office, ostensibly to keep the exchange out of the limelight Burris has recently found himself in.

From that Laboratory of Democracy...

So with term-limits, California's got revolving door politicians with no long-term commitment to (or working knowledge of) government institutions. With the 2/3's rule, they've got Republicans calling the shots on spending and taxation whether they're in power or not. With ballot initiatives, they've got impossibly complicated legislation being decided according to the budget of the various special interest media campaigns.

First we got the bum rush from Blago & Burris. Now it's coming from the Chicago Tribune. Notice the use of the word 'swiftly' in this apparently personal editorial addressed to Gov. Pat Quinn:

If they were able to find out this much about Burris without even trying, think of what they'll get once they start making an effort.

The benefits of ballot initiative:

The roots of California's inability to address its budget woes are statutory and political. The state, unlike most others, requires a two-thirds majority vote in the Legislature to pass budgets and tax increases. And its process for creating voter initiatives hamstrings the budget process by directing money for some programs while depriving others of cash.

Actually there are two problems. In his testimony before the Illinois House Impeachment Panel on 1/8/2009: