Ellington

"For the first time in over a decade, your state government is doing what you do every day at home—spending what it takes in and saving for a rainy day."

—Mississippi Republican Lt. Gov Tate Reeves on various budget moves of the GOP-led Legislature since 2011.

Why it stinks: Since Republicans took over control of both houses of the Legislature in 2011, the GOP has done everything one would expect in terms of belt-tightening and saving, which has put about $409 million into reserves. At the same time, some critical state functions and agencies have received short shrift (e.g. the Mississippi Adequate Education Program). The Republicans aren't kidding anyone. They're saving up so they can make it rain a little bit during an election and hold on to the governor's mansion and majorities in the Legislature. There's a name for the precipitation-drenched day to which Lt. Gov. Reeves is referring: Election Day.