Good Monday Morning, Fellow Seekers.

It's no secret that Pennsylvania is something of a hot mess, politically speaking.

We have epic levels of public corruption; exploding public pension debt and finances shakier than a 1950s B-movie confidence man's.

But now, as the Republican-controlled General Assembly and the Democratic Wolf administration stumble like sailors after a rough weekend into the third, full week of Budget Deadlock 2017, we now have some idea of just how messed up things are.

Shall we begin?

The financial news site 24/7 Wall St. put together a list of the nation's best-run states. And Pennsylvania, languishing all the way down there at No. 42, can't even see the top spot from where it sits right now.

(For those of you playing along at home, New Mexico is the worst run of these 50 states. North Dakota is the best.)

Here's what the wonks had to say about Pennsylvania in 2016:

42. Pennsylvania

Debt per capita: $3,716 (20th highest)

2015 Unemployment rate: 5.1% (tied-25th lowest)

Credit rating: Aa3/AA-

Poverty: 13.2 percent (21st lowest)

Pennsylvania's reserve coffers comprise just 0.2% of the state's total expenditures for the 2017 fiscal year, nearly the smallest rainy day fund of any state. According to analysis by the Pew Charitable Trusts, Pennsylvania's rainy day fund could finance the state's operations for just about three days, less than any state other than Arkansas.

Pennsylvania's pension is also underfunded. The state has just 59.6 percent of the assets it needs to fund its future pension obligations, the fifth least of any state.

Likely due in part to poor fiscal management, Pennsylvania has a AA- rating and a negative outlook from S&P. Pennsylvania's labor market is also not doing especially well. The state's October unemployment rate of 5.4 percent is up from the same time the year before when unemployment was at 4.8 percent.

Now it would be one thing if this was a sign of an upward climb (there's precious little room below.)

But as our pal, John Baer, of the Philadelphia Daily News notes, things have actually gotten worse, not better.

In 2010, when former Gov. Ed Rendell left office, the state ranked 22nd - officially average, the nerds at 24/7 Wall St. concluded. By 2014, when Wolf was running against Republican Tom Corbett, the state had tumbled 14 places to 36th, Baer noted.

And in last year's ranking, Pennsylvania was book-ended by its neighbors: West Virginia finished 41st in the ranking list. New Jersey, home of noted beach bum Chris Christie, finished 43rd. So we have that going for us, at least.

It would be easy to ascribe this to mere partisan politics, but the state's problems are deeper and more structural than that.

Mistakes have been made, and issues have grown more complicated, under Republican and Democratic governors alike. Republicans, with a slight respite in the mid-Aughts, have controlled both chambers of the General Assembly since the 1990s.

Pillaging the pension funds to spend elsewhere and to balance the budget, as Rendell did, was a terrible idea.

Patchwork budgets that dodged big tax increases, putting off future expenses with a series of one-time fixes (as has been the case under Corbett and Wolf) haven't helped either.

Spending, meanwhile, has increased.

The Legislature's appropriation, for some God-forsaken reason, is supposed to go up this year. And the state is looking at expanding gambling even further to make ends meet.

These challenges, of course, aren't new. And the two sides will, no doubt, end up with a perfectly mediocre budget that continues to look away from those long-term challenges.

And Pennsylvania, ninth from bottom in the nation, the state where American democracy was born, can continue its slide into irrelevance.

Luckily, or sadly, there's not that much farther to go.

The rest of the day's news starts now.

They've held a vigil for those murder victims in Bucks County. The Tribune-Review has the story.

The Post-Gazette looks at Pat Toomey's efforts to get the GOP healthcare bill to a vote, let alone passed.

PhillyMag would like you to meet the city's newest start-up, GoPuff (just read, we can't do it justice).

Here's your #Harrisburg Instagram of the Day (triathlon edition).

Now here's a reason for all of us to worry about climate change: It could skunk your beer, PlanPhilly reports.

Allentown has settled a police excessive force case for $160k, The Morning Call reports.

Republicans are looking to divide Democrats on single-payer in the 6th CD, PoliticsPa reports.

WolfWatch.

Gov. Tom Wolf has no public schedule today.

You Say It's Your Birthday Dept.

Best wishes go out this morning to Jill Helsel Gingrich of La Torre Communications in Harrisburg; and to ex-Patriot-News, and current Reuters, reporter David DeKok. Congrats and enjoy the day.

Heavy Rotation.

Here's an old favorite that popped up on the way to work today.

And now you're up to date. See you all back here in a bit.