Been complaining about legislative gridlock in Sacramento? Still whining about California's terrible business climate? Grumpy about high state taxes?
Time to put your money where your mouth is and see if you -- yes, you there with the Don't Tread on Me t-shirt! -- can solve the Golden State's budget problems.
You think all those legislators do in Sacramento is sit around playing partisan games? Well, let's see if you can do better.
Starting Tuesday, you can try your hand on the helm of the great ship of state thanks to San Francisco nonprofit Next 10. The organization is releasing an improved, fancier online "budget challenge" tool where you can pick priorities for spending. Options to choose between include education, MediCal, human services, criminal justice, as well as paying off California's $28 billion in debt (which sucks up about 5 percent of spending right off the bat).
So, if you've whipped your own checkbook into shape, tamed your mortgage and your credit card statement, try a bigger challenge.
And if California is an easy problem to solve, there's a simulator for fixing the United States budget here. Think you can make $3.36 trillion in spending match up with $2.3 trillion in revenue? Good luck!