State budget disaster makes you the villain

When the state Legislature began its 2025 legislative session, a Senate Democrat mistakenly e-mailed a strategy memo to the entire membership, outlining her pitch for the largest tax increase in the history of the state.

“We have to identify the villain and the problem blocking our progress and how we can take action to solve the issue,” she said.

She went on to name the villain – “the wealthy few” who don’t pay their fair share. If we just pounded the rich with new taxes, she explained, everything would be fine. As if the rich were responsible for her team’s decision to violate every principl...