Special Report

• California in Crisis

  Donald Cohen

  With a dysfunctional state government unable to act, the universities, schools, and roads that were once the model for the nation are crumbling -- if not collapsing.

• State Fiscal Gimmicks: A Budgetary Balancing Act

  Katherine Barrett

  Phony budget accounting defers the day of reckoning -- but raises costs.

• A Tour of Six States

  Jake Blumgart

  Snapshots of the fiscal crisis across the nation.

• Transparency For What?

  Mark Schmitt

  The left, right, and center agree that they want more state budget data. But not all data improves policy.

• Buckeye Budget Blues

  Amy Hanauer

  Ohio has all the reform elements in place -- except political will.

• Reform Amid Fiscal Ruin

  Greg Anrig

  In some states, progressive leadership and grass-roots activism have turned crisis into opportunity for long-deferred tax reform.

• Public Capacity and Public Trust

  Dianne Stewart

  Can we reverse the vicious circle of frustrated citizens denying state government adequate resources -- and then resenting the lack of state services?

• Loosening Fiscal Straitjackets

  Iris Lav

  Proponents say that caps on taxing and spending enhance democracy. In reality, they destroy accountable government -- but that can be changed.

• Digging Out, Planning Ahead

  Nicholas Johnson

  The federal government needs to do more to help states survive this downturn -- and plan for permanent anti-recession fiscal relief.