No one could accuse TIME of being a repository for right-wing rhetoric. That?s why it?s especially interesting to read the magazine?s description of the causes of financial woes for state governments across the country.

Among the highlights of David Von Drehle?s cover story:

Governments that were frugal in the past are just squeaking by. Governments that were lavish in the good times, building their budgets on optimism and best-case scenarios, now risk being wrecked like a shantytown in an earthquake.

Hmm. Lavish in good times, stuck with problems in bad times. I think we?ve heard about this problem before.

Von Drehle also shines a spotlight (no pun intended) on budget woes in Charlotte:

This all comes as a shock to the folks of Charlotte, who long ago grew accustomed to seemingly endless prosperity. The seeds of Bank of America, among other empires, were sown there. “People are asking, ‘We’re Charlotte, North Carolina. We’re big banks. How did we get like this?’ ” says county budget director Hyong Yi. The answer is rooted in that once booming economy. As Charlotte burgeoned, the county approved $1.5 billion in bonds to build a new courthouse and new schools, expand its jails, improve its parks and ? open state-of-the-art libraries. Then the recession hit. Local unemployment rose to 11.7% in January ? twice what it was two years earlier. Homes and commercial real estate lost value, which dried up the county’s chief revenue source, property taxes. The result: a 5% reduction in the upcoming budget, $71 million in cuts on top of $76 million in cuts the year before. Losing nearly $150 million in two years ? an eternity of lemonade stands won’t fill that hole.

? [B]udget woes in the Tar Heel State look like an ongoing problem. A spokesperson for North Carolina governor Bev Perdue said the outlook remains grim: “Next year will not be pretty.”

How ?not pretty?? Try a $3 billion hole in the next budget because lawmakers are unwilling the bite the bullet and make hard choices now.

The online version of the story doesn?t show it, but the print version of TIME showcases a map with each state?s ?expected shortfall next year as a percentage of this year?s budget.? Who ranks No. 7 in the United States and No. 1 in the Southeast for the worst expected shortfall? North Carolina, of course, with 30.5 percent. Here?s how our neighbors fare: Virginia, 8.2 percent; Tennessee, 10.0 percent; South Carolina, 22.6 percent; and Georgia, 24.3 percent.