Mood: Great.
Music: None.
Mind: Don't make me think about the wedding, punk.

If you live in Tennessee (like me and SnottyPaws' Paul, I pity you.
If you live anywhere else, stay there. You won't regret it.

See, Tennessee is the only state in the union without an income tax, which is (supposedly) a big pull to outsiders.

Except it's come back to haunt us. Tennessee is broke, with an enormous sales tax (8.25 cents on the dollar) to boot. Education is failing, poverty is high, and ther'es not much to show for the years we've lived without a sales tax.

The state legislature borked out on its citizens, failing to pass a plan by July 1 that would eventually get Tennessee out of the hole.

While this doesn't sound like a big deal (for example, there's a safety net in effect until this Friday, July 5), there are huge repercussions for Tennessee's workers and citizens.

Among them:

1. 22,000 Tennessee government workers have been furloughed because there is no money to pay them. Departments of revenue, labor, etc. have gotten rid of "non-essential" employees, meaning offices of 1,000+ are down to 200; offices with around 300 workers may be down to a handful.

2. State schools have been shut down effective July 2, so summer school has ended early or won't happen at all. Some student athletes won't get the credits needed to be eligible this fall, and some students who need a summer class to graduate may not be able to walk.

3. The unemployment office is working with a skeleton staff, so needy families have been unable to collect food stamps or unemployment checks. People wanting to interview for jobs with the unemployment office have been put on indefinite hold.

4. Some state-run day cares, like that at Southwest Tennessee Community College, have been shut down. This means parents of young children may have to find other sitters -- especially hard if the government is telling you it cannot pay you.

Tennessee governor Don Sundquist says he has put 15 plans before the legislature. He says no bill coming out of there is going to be perfect, but something must be passed before things get any worse.

That's good advice to lawmakers who came into work at 11 a.m. Monday and adjourned at 11:30 a.m.