Today's Fresh Meat

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Governor Schwarzenegger has ordered all state departments to plan for 10% budget cuts after state officials warned that the housing market will create a shortfall.

Democratic leaders have agreed to parts of the governor'shealthcare plan, including individual requirements to buy insurance.Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles) outlined a fundingproposal Monday that calls for a 2 to 6.5 percent sliding scale ofemployer contribution and a $2 per pack tax on cigarettes.

Henry Aaron, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, explains why healthcare reform has failed in the past. "If there's any chance of success this time, we need to understand the barriers that prevented reform in the past."

There's more...

Image courtesy of Calitics.