Californication

The Golden State: still screwed.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers failed on Wednesday night to agree to balance the state's budget by closing a $26.3 billion deficit, but officials said talks would continue.

The budget talks, which have lasted weeks, have stalled over a part of the governor's plan to suspend a law on school funding, Karen Bass, the speaker of the state assembly, and California Senate President Darrell Steinberg told reporters.

The legislature's two top Democrats said budget talks would resume on Thursday.

It's real simple, folks. Both sides are trying to do as much damage to the other guy's traditional voters as possible without hurting their own supporters, and both sides are secretly praying for a federal bailout to save them.

As long as this keeps devolving into a game of Screw Your Neighbor, everybody in California loses. It's important to also note that since there's no way to raise taxes in California due to its crazy ass laws requiring a 2/3rds majority in both chambers of the State Assembly to raise them, the $26.3 billion is going to eventually be paid solely by the people who need the state's services. The only question is how much pain will be caused by the cuts.

We're already seeing illegal immigrants as the new scapegoats in California. I figure it's just a matter of time now before things get physical and very very ugly in this long, hot summer.