Editor: Brutal budget battle shaping up

The battle over the state’s fiscal 2012 budget will be brutal next year, says Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball. The budget already faces a shortfall that estimates put as high as $2 billion; that figure could hit $4 billion by the time the legislative session starts in April. On top of that, a long-term policy of giving short shrift to paying for what the state needs—like higher education, health care and economic development—in order to fund things that politicians want, has made the state an economic laughingstock. “A massive deficit, dwindling revenues, increasing poverty, misplaced priorities and an empty bag of budget tricks … it all adds up to a fiscal train wreck,” Ball says. Read the full column here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.