Which departments to contract or eliminate altogether? I consider it obvious that to reduce the State's Code means less regulation, law and precedent for the judiciary to work through.

I consider it obvious that while your proposal sounds perfectly reasonable, there is no Department of "Regulation, Law and Precedent" that can be downsized to save a trillion dollars. To save $ means something will have to go. What, exactly?

Money wasted on ever-lengthening unemployment benefits and building frog tunnels is money the State does not have to spend on roads or education.

That's different from the "Regulation, Law and Precedent" you describe above. Just to be clear, are you advocating elimination of welfare?

Our education spending is a mandated percentage of the budget established via a vote of the citizenry, yet those in power are tapping into it anyhow. Law? What law? Our social spending is completely out of hand. In addition because of our entrenched gerryrigged electoral map we're stuck with a fully bought and paid for legislature which over the years has established public employee contracts and social programs which have bankrupted the State. No worries, we just continue the annual tradition of missing the State Constitutionally mandated deadline for a balanced budget and borrow ourselves into oblivion, forcing us to pay ever increasing rates on the money we continue to borrow. Kick the can down the road...the next generation will pay for it. If you want to see what excessive spending on a national level looks like, look no further than the 8th largest economy in the world with her B credit rating. WooHoo! Only 2 levels to go until junk.

OK, so what are you proposing here- ringfenced spending for education, electoral reform, balancing the budget?

i agree, it seems obvious... but if it were so easy, don't you suppose it would have been tried by now? Do you think that Arnie and everybody on his coat-tails wants to be a screw-up?

Every so often in healthcare we're treated to administrators who arrive in healthcare and announce their amazing discovery that "prevention is better than cure." Yes, people in the field are aware of that, thanks, but we also have to deal with real life where cute theories don't solve problems. I recommend that you assume that there are people just as smart as you right in there struggling to resolve these issues and meeting brick walls. How will you help them?