After the Governor plugged that gaping budget hole the state's financial experts then started making dire revenue projections for the remainder of the fiscal year. They wrinkled brows and gritted vanity-whitened teeth. "Hmmm," they said, "even the national economy is in recession these days."

They scratched shadowed chins with well-manicured nails. "Ah," they reflected, "the auto industry is in total free fall."

They chewed pencils and tapped long, tanned fingers on oaken conference tables cluttered with stained coffee cups and prescribed smoking cessation gum wrappers. "Rats, our governor is an idiot."

Then, after all the reflections and musings had been compiled, they quite somberly announced that their newly arrived at projections were their butt-ugliest ever in a state where butt-ugly projections are more common than in Helen Thomas' posh Capitol Hill powder room. A dejected Mulhern staff would simply have to keep itself busy accomplishing other important government tasks because there was a big ixnay on the astrypay. Alas, not even a box of lousy doughnut holes.

Wait, it gets worse.

As it turns out even that most pessimistic of projections was too rosy when faced up against an even uglier reality. July's actual revenues are $50 million short of the expert predictions made for that month only ninety days ago. When July's totals are added to the dismal shortfalls in May and June we now find our fair state another cool $170 million short in revenues to balance this year's budget. This is on top of the $1.3 billion addressed earlier in the budget year.

Is there any solution?

Granholm and legislative leaders are meeting weekly behind closed doors to try to resolve next year's budget with a combination of program cuts, tax or fee increases, tax loophole closings and federal stimulus money.

The governor has said the shortfall in this year's budget will be patched with the dwindling pot of federal recovery cash. That means less of the stimulus money will be available to help balance next year's budget.

"When the governor signed the executive order in May, she noted that we intended to fill any shortfall with recovery dollars," said Megan Brown, spokeswoman for Granholm. "We're trying to minimize that with ongoing spending restraints."

Razor thin cuts will be suggested to state agencies except those that can be identified as dangerous to the public or affecting the most innocent of victims. We can expect to hear rumors of vast cuts to occur in law enforcement, education, and in programs primarily aimed at helping children and the elderly. These proposed brutal and unpopular cuts can then be used to justify higher fees and taxes and the infamous tax loophole closings. Something along the lines of "If janitorial services are not taxed little Johnny won't get his meal before school!" or "Little Suzy will not be able to attend preschool if dirty smokers don't cough up another buck or so on smokes," or "Hey, you are getting new neighbors, but don't worry, they have already served some of their sentence and I'm sure these California inmates will not bring along any west-coast gang influences. By the way, aren't you glad we decided not to tax soft drinks?"

Oh, and that federal stimulus money will be pretty much gone having done nothing to actually stimulate our economy but having instead made it easier for lawmakers to kick the budget can another year down the fiscal road.

So, there you have it in a nutshell. Things are bad, but they could always get worse. I anxiously await August's report.

cross posted at The Rougblog