State budget

Utah’s legislature spends a lot of time each year on nutty things, on self-righteously battling demons in Washington or trying to, of all things, honor a gun-maker on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
But as budget-makers go, they’re not bad.

The deal worked out this week (it could still change before Thursday’s adjournment), includes a lot of cuts. Even public education takes a little hit. But Gov. Gary Herbert compromised and accepted an increase in the cigarette tax after all. Lawmakers didn’t raise the sales tax on groceries and basically ensured that state government won’t get in the way of Utah’s economic recovery. (Read about it here.)
I didn’t agree with all the decisions or priorities, but this is an extraordinarily difficult time for states. This week alone we’ve seen stories about New York’s struggles with a $9 billion deficit, about Illinois facing a $13 billion shortfall, about Texas looking for up to $15 billion, and how even little Iowa is $341 million in the hole. And California is still hopeless.
Utah looks pretty good in comparison.