New Hampshire seeks temporary services of a political scientist (Nobel Peace Prize minimum requirement), fiscal troubleshooter (Is New York City too easy for you?) or expert magician (Have you ever levitated Mount Rush-more?) to untie a Gordian knot. The problem: it has no budget. Since midnight June 30, the state has had no legal authority to spend a dime; there is no payroll; the government is now all volunteer.
Faced with a potential $25 million deficit, conservative Governor Meldrim Thomson Jr. and the two houses of the legislature all seek to balance the budget. They cannot get together on how to do...