It's been said that the three functions of our state are to educate, medicate and incarcerate. To be sure, California's spending on schools, health care/social services and judicial system is the largest in the country.

As Sacramento prepares to make across the board cuts in the upcoming budget, the loudest protest can be heard coming from the education sector.

In a state ranked 46th in the nation for per-pupil spending, the proposed education cuts will exacerbate an already critical problem with our local schools. It's no wonder that the familiar cry, "California is balancing its budget on the backs of our children," is being heard once again.

By asking public schools to absorb almost $5 billion in cuts, the governor is performing surgery with a saw, not a scalpel.

Some of the problem is the result of our own doing.

Communities that embraced high-cost housing ultimately forced many young families out of the market. With growth at a standstill and without new students in the pipeline, school enrollment dropped and so did revenues from the state. Now, schools may have to be closed and, with the upcoming budget cuts, jobs may be lost. As teachers are laid off, class sizes become larger and programs are dropped.

But not all blame should be placed on the state, either.

California has fewer public sector employees per capita than any state in the nation. Yet, we still claim there's too much fat in Sacramento and continue to hold the belief that California has a spending problem (too much waste), and not a revenue problem (taxes that are too low).

We want good public schools, strong infrastructure and a generous welfare system, and we object vehemently when funding from the state, especially for education, gets cut back.

In short, we want the state to spend grandiosely on the things we deem important (schools, not prisons)- but we don't want to foot the bill personally. Is it realistic to expect Sacramento to do all the heavy lifting?

The year ahead will be difficult and sacrifices will have to be made by everyone in California, public and private sector alike. Start by taking out a pencil sharpener and seeing where your own wasteful spending occurs. As state government already knows, this is a task that's much easier said than done.