Via Newsbusters comes this story that simultaneously explains why California has so many budget problems and why it's so difficult to cut spending,

In a time when fiscal responsibility from politicians seems to be a thing of the past, NBC's "Today Show" and ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson" criticized California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his proposed budget cuts in his effort to save California from reaching total financial ruin.

The June 3rd "Today Show" featured numerous opponents of Schwarzenegger's budget cuts, but nobody supporting or defending them.

The segment began with a clip of the governor stating: "Our wallet is empty. Our bank is closed, and our credit is dried up," a fact that does not seem to bother NBC, as they mourn the proposed solution to this problem: the cutting of what they deemed "essential services."

"The governor is talking about slashing programs to help the poor, including health coverage for 1 million children," NBC reporter George Lewis lamented after the chair of the state legislature's joint budget committee, Democrat Noreen Evans, claimed that "what the governor's proposing is really eliminating the safety net for Californians at a time when they need it most."

Lewis made no attempt to press Evans for what she or other Democrats proposed to do to save the state from "running out of cash" as Schwarzenegger warns.

Amidst video of state health workers chanting "No more cuts!" Lark Galloway Gilliam of the Community Health Council told Lewis the budgets were "unheard of, unreasonable, and borderline irresponsible." As strong as those charges were, once again, NBC didn't provide anyone in rebuttal.

"Today" then played the empathy card with a family who, under the proposed cuts, would not be able to pay for their son's ADHD treatment.

Reporting that "other essential services will suffer," Lewis turned to Lou Paulson, the president of California Professional Firefighters. Paulson claimed that "we are going to be putting folks in potentially dangerous situations with less resources."

Lewis explained that "In last month's Santa Barbara fire, local fire departments contributed 400 extra trucks to the battle. But in the future, with department budgets cut, that aid probably won't be available" without offering any proof of that claim.

NBC was not the only network offering sympathy for California. ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson" on June 2nd, teased: "Governor Schwarzenegger's dire warning to California. The poor, the hungry, the very young, all facing painful cuts," and "the harsh new reality facing 37 million people in California."

Reporter Laura Marquez called the proposed budget cuts "extremely painful," and then used verbs to match: "$5 Billion stripped from education. 1 Million low income children dropped from public health care. 500,000 Families thrown off welfare."

Here's the reality: California has spent their money recklessly for a long, long time and now they're broke. They have a 20+ billion dollar budget deficit.

There are many people who will blame this on the people of California for rejecting the large tax increases that the state government wanted to put in place. However, even if those tax increases had been approved, they would have only covered a third of the deficit. So, they still would have had to make big cuts.

Here's the real problem, both in California and with the federal government: the politicians are promising a free lunch and the American people are buying into the idea.

There is nothing easier than to be in favor of giving more money to help with ADHD treatment or to firefighters. You just naturally want to help them. Plus, it feels magnanimous to be in favor of giving them more money. Of course, it's really not; you can't be compassionate with other people's money, but still...it feels that way.

....But eventually, somebody has to pay the bill and there's a world of difference between a good cause and a good cause you're willing to pay for out of your own pocket.

Yet, when government gets into a financial crunch in this country, it's always the same story: there are legions who want credit for any new spending, but nobody wants to pay for it and any cuts are condemned as harsh and cruel. That dynamic is why people like me will tell you that if fiscal conservatism can't win at the ballot box, then this country is finished. This country cannot be prosperous, nor a great place to live in the future unless our politicians have the courage to cut spending.