Steve Malanga

Often these buyouts don't attract as many participants in the public sector as they might in the private sector because of how good the benefits are for government employees.

This is the kind of budget you would pass if you were a state that hit a bump in the road and had a deficit you needed to get rid of over the next two or three years, it's not the kind of budget you'd pass if you have $14 billion in unpaid bills and a $130 billion unfunded (pension) liability.