The state of California was held hostage by a small minority of ideologues and its own budget process this year, as the legislature struggled to reach the necessary 2/3 majority. That it finally ended did not mean it ended well—an ugly process well documented earlier on this blog. The fight was definitely in the headlines and we were all gravely concerned about the outcome, but it’s not clear that the budget process itself is well understood by the majority of Californians.

Our friends at Next 10 (whose founder F. Noel Perry is a CLCV Environmental Leadership Awards honoree this June 5th) have created an innovative and fun tool that we can all use to learn more about how the budget is put together:

The California Budget Challenge is an interactive game which allows you to create your own version of the state budget that reflects your vision for California’s future – reflecting your values through the state budget spending. The site is updated with current budget numbers and policy options.

It’s a fun way to reshape public policy according to your own priorities, while highlighting the hard choices faced by the members of the state legislature. Check it out!