Governor Christine Gregoire is asking for our help in balancing the state's budget, which is projected to have a deficit of 3-5 billion dollars.  She has an interactive site where you can play with the budget numbers.  I had the budget balanced in less than five minutes, with a $500 million surplus. Of course it's easy for me since I don't have any political cronies to protect and provide for, unlike many of the politicians in Olympia.

In my fantasy plan, I eliminated the Department of Ecology, the Growth Management Act, the Pollution Control Board, the Arts Commission but unfortunately also had to lose Fish and Wildlife and a couple of other worthwhile agencies that were tied into the same budget, but it would be worth the sacrifice.  I expanded Public Safety and Economic Vitality. I reduced by 70% the state's free health insurance.  I don't want to completely eliminate the state's safety net for our most vulnerable citizens, but I do think the plan needs to be reduced considerably.  I left everything else in place, including K-12 and higher education funding, although there are some areas that would need some attention in future budgets.

 Here's the site, I encourage you to try your hand and be sure to submit your balanced budget at the end.  I have no idea if the state is paying attention to the results, but it can't hurt.