Ring around the budget

Katy Grimes: Red rover, red rover, send Arnold right over.

Capture the flag… Ring around the rosey, a pocket full pf posies… Duck, duck, goose… Four square… Kick the can… King of the hill… Mother may I? Hide and seek… Truth or dare?… Red light – green light… Pickle.

These are all games we played as kids. And then we grew up and started behaving like adults. Or did we? Some of us seem unable to leave the games on the playground, and still play them in the Capitol school yard.

Duck, duck spend.

Mother, may I borrow money to pay my bills?

Truth or dare? I dare you to ask John and Darrell who is really calling the shots.

Pickle – yup. We already know that game, and we’re in one.

Tag, you’re IT! The 40 new legislators coming in on November 3rd will be “it,” with an immediate budget deficit and no fun ahead on the playground.

In the ultimate game of hide and seek, there are whispers that the budget details won’t be out from hiding until after the budget is signed… by The King of the Hill, who could be dethroned if he continues to kick the can into next year.

Ring around the rosey, a pocket full of education spending.

And who could forget Capture the federal money? This budget – all eight pages of detail released so far, makes some really big “revenue” assumptions.

And while it’s light’s out for all of the good little children late on Thursday night, legislators will pass a budget while burning the midnight oil, and only then will we find out what’s really inside of the toy chest.

OCT. 6, 2010