CGS-authored

It's the morning after the night before in the Golden State. Home prices are plummeting, and unemployment has jumped to 6.1%, well above the national average. The economy already may be in a recession.

State government suddenly is looking at a $14.5 billion budget shortfall. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's new budget proposes closing 48 state parks and releasing 22,000 prison inmates early. School funding would be cut by several hundred dollars per student.

But the good times keep rolling on in one area. Through a bond measure passed by the voters in 2004, the state is authorized to spend $3 billion on stem cell research, mainly of the ethically problematic type that uses cells from human embryos.

Delayed for a couple of years by disputes over the program's fiscal oversight and conflicts of interest, the grants started flowing in 2007, with more than $250 million awarded.

The state is now the world's largest funder of stem cell research, and spending is expected to accelerate this year, despite the state's fiscal woes. More than $225 million is expected for just grants for...