The Texas Omen

``The only thing that let Gov. Rick Perry get away, temporarily, with claims of a surplus was the fact that Texas enacts budgets only once every two years, and the last budget was put in place before the depth of the economic downturn was clear. Now the next budget must be passed — and Texas may have a $25 billion hole to fill. Now what? ... It’s hard to imagine what will happen if the state tries to eliminate its huge deficit purely through further cuts. I don’t know how the mess in Texas will end up being resolved. But the signs don’t look good, either for the state or for the nation. ''