California is heading for another fiscal showdown this summer and this one may make the O.K. Corral look like a picnic in the park.

After years of smoke and mirrors when it comes to budgets, reality again caught up with California leaders when the global economy melted. This isn't the first time the economy wreaked havoc with California's budget --- and it will not be the last.

As the world's trend setter --- from silicon chips to housing markets --- California experiences tremendous highs as our innovations take hold, and tremendous crashes as times get tough.

Our budget is closely linked to these ups and downs because so much of our revenue depends on income tax and capital gains.

At the polls on May 19 voters are being asked to seal the budget deal lawmakers reached in February.

Several of the elements of that excruciating deal required voter approval, including a spending cap, borrowing from state funds and ramping up the state lottery so we could borrow against its future. (Visit www.cacatholic.org for analysis of the measures.)

The compromise is unpopular and, in fact, few of the state's major players, unions, teachers, or business groups, support it. As a result, the ballot measures are all trailing in the polls except for the one that limits elected official's receiving salary increases in a deficit year.

Budget issues in special elections don't exactly have a stellar record in the Golden State.

In 1973, during another special election on fiscal policy, voters rejected reforms when Governor Ronald Reagan said even he didn't understand the package.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger --- patterning himself after legendary reformist Governor Hiram Johnson --- called a special statewide election in 2005 to implement many reforms. They all failed.

The year before, Governor Schwarzenegger created a task force to explore government reforms to save money. Not a single one was ever adopted.

Is there a pattern here? Are lawmakers going to break it, or are we the voters going to speak up and make a difference?

The deficit in June will be in the $14 billion neighborhood, maybe more. Given the repercussions faced by GOP lawmakers after their February vote, why would any Republican support a compromise?

Democratic leaders have already given it their best shot and are facing a divided constituency. Their most powerful supporters are all over the map when it comes to endorsing and opposing the measures on the May 19.

Reforming the system will not be easy. Either we do it collectively as people interested in the common good, or we might have it done for us by some clumsy initiative.

We should start by taking the election seriously. Though complicated, the measures deserve our careful consideration. Consider:

---About 80 percent of the budget is already restricted. Do we want a spending cap (1A) that further restricts it? If we do not trust our legislators to budget wisely, why do we continue to elect them?

---Schools and mental health support are worthy causes. Do measures 1B and 1D, which deal with funding for these services, do so in a way consistent with the values of good education and protection of the vulnerable?

---Is enhancing the lottery a value we want to espouse in California? Is it wise to borrow against future potential earnings? Is the borrowing more smoke and mirrors, or a way to avoid further taxes? Lotteries are considered by many to be a form of regressive taxation. In other words, the poor tend to "pay" a larger share.

More generally, are our budgeting, taxes and social services geared toward justice in California, or overly weighed to politically powerful interest groups? Are the poor and vulnerable being protected? Is the common good being advanced?

This summer we will once again be facing insolvency. Organizations such as Catholic Charities and other non-profits that provide services to the poor and vulnerable will not get critical funding. We might even see state IOUs again.

With budget impasses becoming the "norm," a growing number of commentators are calling for a significant reform of California government.

The calls haven't reached a crescendo yet, but they are getting close. California has a history of fiscal and policy brinksmanship. And we can be pushed over the edge at any time --- sometimes for better, sometimes not.

Let the voters demand a step away from the precipice.

Steve Pehanich coordinates the Catholic Legislative Network, a partnership of the 12 dioceses in the state and the California Catholic Conference. You can join at www.cacatholic.org.