A new memo from the Senate Fiscal Agency shows budget deficits continuing to grow, with a total current year general fund and School Aid Fund deficit of $1.41 billion, and a total 2009-10 general fund and School Aid Fund deficit of $2.71 billion.
The current budget year will be covered by stimulus - but that will leave us less to use for FY'10, and we will face "the cliff", as it is being called, for '11. All these guesses on 2011 are just that though; if the economy turns around, it won't be that big, of course. But the stimulus will be long gone by then, so we better pray it does turn around...
First things first, and that is the budget for 2010. Reality has set in for the Republicans.
The memo, which was dated Monday but posted to the SFA website on Wednesday, also came out when various sources acknowledged that Republican lawmakers were reluctantly looking at the possibility that additional revenues, most likely by reducing tax credits, were going to have to be part of the budget solution.
But Republicans are also insisting that the administration and legislative Democrats agree to budget target figures before they begin the effort to determine how much revenue may have to be added.
It's a start. The only question now is how big the fight is over who gets their ox gored. If they are smart, they will do this across the board and not start pitting interests against each other. Don't we have enough of that already?
Good luck people. You are going to need it.