A level-heading analysis from David Leonhardt in the New York Times:
Fat and happy government workers, however easy the caricature may be, are not the cause of our looming federal and state deficits. Neither are spineless politicians.
The cause is Americans’ collective desire for low taxes and generous government benefits. We want our politicians to promise us tax cuts, a strong military, safe streets, good schools and unchanged Medicare and Social Security. And promise it all they do.
Eventually, we will have to pay for the government we want, regardless of what happens in Wisconsin.