Cuts 'will be painful,' Beshear says

Budget to deal with shortfall due out Tuesday

FRANKFORT - Gov. Steve Beshear certainly isn't building any grand expectations for the first two-year budget he will unveil Tuesday night in Frankfort to the General Assembly and a statewide television audience.

"We are in a real financial crisis," Beshear said this week. "The current fiscal year, that ends June 30, we have about a $430 million shortfall that we're having to deal with."

And the picture is even bleaker for the next two years with a budget that has a shortfall of more than $600 million.

Beshear doesn't favor any tax increases, so his plan will include deep cuts.

"It will be painful," he said...

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer.