I wrote a story about that conversation, which ran on Thursday. Basically, they're afraid that Gov. Rendell is trying to set up the conditions for a potential budget crisis, and let Republicans take the fall.

This all hearkens back to last year, when about 250,000 "non-essential" state government workers were furloughed for a day, because the state budget wasn't passed by June 30, which marks the end of the fiscal year.

I remember that day very clearly. I drove out to Pinchot State Park to interview campers who had to leave because of the delayed budget passage. That included two married Australian couples. One of the couples had moved to Canada, and invited the other to visit them. The four intended to spend a couple of weeks traveling around the United States in a motor home.

One of the women told me she'd read online about the budget impasse, and the possibility that the park would be closed. I found her naivete genuinely touching when she said she just figured it would never actually happen. She had assumed that government officials would naturally make a rational decision based on the public good.

There was little I could say in response to that, other than, "Welcome to America."