And it's gonna get worse, in a hurry . . .

As state and local government's run out of stimulus funds and accounting tricks, we're going to have teachers, firefighters, police, social workers, librarians, custodians, pavers and construction workers hitting the unemployment lines. Massachusetts is a comparatively wealthy state and our economy has held up better than most with its base of higher education and high tech industries, but we're about to see big time layoffs of municipal workers and continuing losses of state workers and contractors.

Illinois, however, faces utter catastrophe, due in part to its utterly dysfunctional politics. In California, well, getting terminated by a cyborg from the distant future would probably be a mercy.

We can expect absolutely dismal conditions in November. Who will the voters blame? Do you need to ask?