New news from California.
The budget is mostly balanced, and it was done by actual budget cuts. Not the type of cuts trumped by Democrats and Republicans, smaller increases. These are cuts that a libertarian would call cuts, the numbers on this budget are smaller than the numbers on the prior budget.
This is done thanks to the proposition passed by the majority of California voters, proposition 13. A large majority of voters passed it to restrict that minority of Californians called politicians. Yet it protects the rights of that minority because it still is possible for them to raise taxes - California is in the top five of most taxed states. It's just harder for that minority called politicians to raise taxes. Time and again that minority called politicians have put attempts to weaken proposition 13 in front of the voters of California, and time and again the voters have rejected it. Proposition 13 wasn't passed by one group of politicians against another group, it was passed by the people themselves against the politicians.
Since state employees can't be laid off and can't have their salaries decreased, they are getting furloughed 3 days per month now. Usually government jobs are considered recession proof. Instead government employees are sharing the load with those they live off of. It's a radical change.
But there were a few tricks to balance the budget. Independent contractors pay their income taxes at the end of the fiscal year, now they pay more upfront. And the last paycheck of the California fiscal year was moved from the end of July to the beginning of August, one day different but still in the next budget. So while this isn't a truly balanced budget by a combination of pay cuts for government employees and cuts to government programs this came very close.
For a final ironic touch, state employees have voted to grant their union permission to strike. But not to actually strike. For some reason, the horde of tax auditors and other public servants fear that if they do leave their "jobs," no non-parasite would even notice. Or that they would notice and decide they like it.
So this is what other states have in store for them, and then ultimately the federal government itself.