13 years ago, Clinton ended "Welfare as we know it" with a re-invention of the welfare system that forced those on the dole to be in school or get a job in order to keep getting assistance. Statistically and anecdotally, the "new welfare" was a success - case loads dropped and many who had been out of work for years got high on the pride of clocking in 9 to 5 (or at least that's what happened to the two women who came to work at my office in the late 90's).

But even with the hullabaloo of Welfare-to-Work's success, some wondered - just because the case numbers are dwindling, does that mean all those being kicked off welfare are necessarily succeeding themselves? The fact that, while welfare checks leveled off, other types of aid started to inch up suggested that the burden of taking care of the poor was just shifting to other governmental agencies.

Now, with a recession in full swing, wonks and activists are asking how - or if - a welfare-to-work scheme will work when there are no jobs?

Sadly, on May 31, 2009, Air France Flight 447 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean. According to a New York Times file article, the plane was headed to Paris from Rio de Janeiro when it disappeared from radar contact. The flight had 228 passengers on board.

Now, on April 19, 2008 (don't worry, I had to look it up), I wrote an analysis of the article stating that Southwest Airlines could be forced to pay up to 10.2 million dollars in fines for continuing to fly their older planes which they had not been inspecting. Now, I would like to acknowledge a few things. For one thing, I do indeed know that, at this time, nobody knows what caused the Airbus to crash. Another thing is that I know that everyone who knows about the incident is speculating as to the cause of the crash.

Budget is defined as a statement of an organization's financial position for a definite period of time based on cost estimates, or is a plan coordinating resources. Incidently, crisis is defined as an unstable, critical situation where changes are immediately called for. As many of you may know, we are experiencing extreme budget trouble across the nation, especially in state governments. Tuesday, May 19, the citizens of California (my home state) voted on Propositions 1A through 1F, a series of emergency initiatives written in an attempt to rescue our state's budget. Before I give you the results, let me give you a little history.

The recession: all of us have been affected by it over the past several months. Though I am thankful that I still have a home, a family, and an education, I see the results of our faulty economy all around me. Half of the houses on my street are in foreclosure, many of my friends' parents are out of their jobs, and my family's delivered Los Angeles Times is getting smaller and smaller.

Take a trip with me back through our recent history. Our nation began to collectively move its focus from the future to the present; instant gratification became more important than overall benefits. Families with middle to low salaries bought 2,500-square-foot homes, boats, ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles), and ate out constantly. People spent beyond their means, not worrying about what would happen when the hypothetical money ran out. Finally, however, this nation's "house of cards" (a painfully overused, but adequate, description) has collapsed to the ground.

This Week on Capitol Hill

Budget '09: The Senate continues its slo-mo march toward passage of a budget for fiscal year 09 (which we're 5 months into). The "omnibus" budget bill, HR 1105 - which bundles nine spending bills Congress left hanging last year - was put on hold last week as senators voted on twelve amendments that aimed to, among other things, cut out "pork" projects, limit EPA protection of polar bears, prevent UN funding for abortions and dry up investment in Iran. All twelve amendments were shot down, as the next dozen - including items on Gaza and DC student vouchers - are expected to be this week.

• more about the '09 Budget

Water Recycling: As House committees get down to business outlining a budget for '10, action on the floor is light this week with only a $13 billion water treatment bill, HR 1262, scheduled for a vote.

This Week on Capitol Hill

Budget '09: The Senate could polish off left-over budget business this week, voting on a bundle of nine (out of twelve) spending bills to cover costs for the current fiscal year. Opting to avoid a budget tussle with President Bush last year, Congress put off passing all non-defense spending items, instead approving a "continuing resolution" to maintain funding at 2008 levels through March 6. Senators may okay a House-approved "omnibus" bill (HR 1105) sending the president a final budget this week, but lawmakers are just as likely to get tripped up by extraneous amendments  to save DC voucher programs and slow up EPA rulings on polar bears (in which case they'll spin out another continuing resolution to keep the government running until a final budget is passed).

This Week on Capitol Hill

Budget '10: Congress will be a sideshow this week as DC's main events come courtesy of the White House. After squeaking a $787 billion stimulus package through Congress two weeks ago, then disappointing Wall Street with a much anticipated revamp of the TARP bailout bill last week, the administration won't be spared economic headaches this week when it presents the outline of a proposed budget for 2010. To prepare the nation for $1 trillion deficit sticker-shock, President Obama will start off the week with a "financial responsibility" summit on Monday and a congressional address on Tuesday, hoping to get across the point that fiscal sobriety will - someday - return to DC.