Illinois' multibillion-dollar pile of unpaid bills will quadruple within five years unless steps are taken to curtail state pension and Medicaid spending, a government watchdog concluded Monday in a new analysis of the state's budget.

Gov. Bill Haslam proposed a $31 billion spending plan that would raise pay for state workers by 2.5 percent, fund a new science building at Middle Tennessee State University and cut more than 1,100 state jobs across Tennessee.

With increases in expenses and no federal money to fall back on, there will almost certainly be some spending cuts as well as spending increases in the budget presented Monday night in the governor's annual "state of the state" address.

As state officials wrestle with a projected budget hole on top of $640 million in health cuts, they are counting on a federal lifeline of $2.5 billion over five years.

The National Conference of State Legislatures, which represents lawmakers from across the country, sent President Barack Obama, Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a letter urging them to "examine all possible avenues for deficit reduction, including discretionary spending, entitlement reform and revenue-related options."

Fixing Maine's welfare system requires embracing a Wisconsin-style approach and keeping the system focused on promoting work and self-sufficiency. Maine's current welfare system does just the opposite, trapping people and families in poverty and promoting dependence and an overreliance on government.

South Carolina should refuse federal No Child Left Behind Funds and the accompanying mandates and find a way to fund poor school districts adequately.

In the wake of the failures of the famed "Super Committee," $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts go into effect in 2013, and those cuts will undoubtedly impact state budets.  Although multi-faceted, the problem is clear: states must learn to fend for themselves financially.

Replacing the current federal financing structure of Medicaid with fixed allotments to the states would help save both state and federal budgets. Without this policy change, states will dig further budgetary holes and the federal government will face an increased likelihood of a debt crisis.  If states received a non-fungible Medicaid block grant from the federal government rather than fungible matching funds, each state would have the incentive to reign in Medicaid spending.  If states were freed from the myriad federal mandates (such as the “maintenance of effort” clause of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) they would gain the ability to run Medicaid efficiently.