A lot of states are faced with this problem.  And with the federal bailout dollars coming to states, there’s very little motivation for states to get their houses in order on their own.  There’s a percolating fear that this one time infusion of cash from the folks in DC will create problems much larger than anticipated in the states in the years ahead.  From NewsTimes.com:

Minority Republicans predicted Monday the deficit in the current budget may rise to a billion dollars, more than triple the shortfall the General Assembly will deal with Wednesday.

The Republicans said unless lawmakers agree to make larger spending cuts during Wednesday’s special session, it’s likely the Democratic majority will either raise taxes or raid the $1.4 billion emergency budget reserves going into the two-year budget cycle that starts July 1.

Republicans led by Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, whose district includes part of Newtown,and House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, asked Democrats to approve new rules that would delay a vote on pending union contracts until June.

Read the Rest…