Will Michigan get its act together?

The annual Sept. 30 dance has begun in this household where one person works for the state of Michigan. You know, the state with a budget that begins on Oct. 1 every year, the state that can't get its act together enough to pass a budget so that my husband doesn't have to monitor the news to know if he works tomorrow.

No budget means no funding for employees. A layoff notice in mid-September warned that a no work day or two might be coming. A letter today tells employees to check the state web site or call a number to see if a last-minute deal got a budget, or at least enough money to jump start state government.

I'm 99.8 percent sure that something will happen between now and midnight. Yet, my husband worries his paycheck won't be automatically deposited tomorrow and an agreement won't be reached.

Me? I'm thinking the state legislators need to get their act together and quit wasting all the money and energy that goes into making these contingency plans, that goes into emptying our state parks and other facilities deemed non-essential. I wonder who updates the state web site or records the phone lines that employees call to see if the office is open. I worry that my husband worries.