BluegrassForeclosure.com

General Fund revenues are forecasted to shortfall by between $150 – 200 million.  That’s on top of an already lean year where most state agencies and other government entities have cut as much out as possible.  With unemployment very high throughout the Commonwealth and no signs of new jobs being created, the forecasts are extremely bleak.

As reported at Kentucky.com, State Deputy Budget Director Greg Harkenrider said the September declines were worse than expected.

“We knew it was going to be a bad quarter. Did we know that it was going to be this bad? No,” Harkenrider said. “The recent uptick in national retail sales has not manifested itself in Kentucky.”

Governor Steve Beshear states he is taking steps to address the shortfall.  Indeed, the House of Representatives and the Senate are sure to be looking at ways to cut further into the budget.  However, with very little clamor to raise taxes, or to modernize taxes, either from the Legislature or from the general public, it appears that some services are going to have to be severely cut.

The question is, would you rather have your taxes raised and retain the level of services you have now, or see some services lost to budget cuts?