How is managing government different from managing a business or family?

Is there any other entity that experiences dramatic increases in demand for services during a time of budget cutbacks and national economic decline?

Here's just one example: The Spring 2010 Budget Driver report for our state's higher education institutions shows that, overall, enrollment is 14% higher than what we budgeted for the 2009-10 year.

32,111 additional people are seeking education at our state's colleges and universities - many of them laid-off workers seeking to retool and retrain (note the 121% over-enrollment in retraining programs).

Despite double-digit increase in demand for services, steep declines in state revenue have meant double-digit cuts to our higher education budget. How's that for a frugal business model?