Arizona May Sell Capitol Buildings

Man, that is getting to the nitty gritty. Of course, getting to the point of needing to consider that is just an indication of how bad their budget crisis is. Of course, this has to be taken into account:

The state may have little choice. Reserves already have been drained, easier fiscal gimmicks are virtually tapped out, and there's no political will for spending cuts of the size and scope needed to close the deficit.

"This is the predicament we find ourselves in," said Tom Manos, a Brewer budget adviser. "We've exhausted the better options."(emphasis added)

And therein lies the problem with governments who expand spending in flush times, but lack the courage to cut spending in the lean times. If the the Arizona legislature would have just resisted the temptation to spend more, they wouldn't have to face the fact that they would have to make cuts now.

Of course, Arizona is not alone in the notion of spending heavily in good times and then lacking the will to cut spending when times are tough.