Voters never demanded absurdly generous retirement benefits for state employees. The politically powerful unions did, and they defeated the 2005 initiative that would have reduced their power to influence elections. California's voters never demanded that the state provide free medical care and education to illegal immigrants. In fact, they voted to deny those benefits. State courts reversed the voters and Gray Davis refused to appeal that decision because his party disagreed with the voters. Voters certainly share the blame for the current crisis, but they have had plenty of help from a captive legislature and from the courts. So much for the debate about blame. Just like General Motors, blaming doesn't help because reversing those bad decisions won't fix the problem. The state (like many of its cities) has made commitments that it simply cannot keep. The state MUST renege on those promises, cutting benefits for current retirees, cutting pay for current employees, and cutting benefits for everyone. Bankruptcy or its functional equivalent is the only way out. If any group is held harmless in this default, the problem will not be fixed.