Facing the abyss

There's a good editorial in today's Courier-Journal:

Before joining the crowd that is piling onto Gov. Steve Beshear — for relying on $780 million in phantom gambling revenues to balance the 2010-12 state budget — voters might consider what his options were.

...One can quibble with how the Governor has proceeded. It might, for example, have been wise to release figures quickly that showed the legislators and public what 14 percent and 34 percent cuts would mean to specific agencies and services. It certainly would have been helpful if those who would be beneficiaries of additional gambling revenues, such as state university presidents, had been lined up to offer vocal support, instead of being allowed to form an uncommitted herd on the sidelines.

But the Governor is acting responsibly, and there is precedent for budget proposals from governors who assume a revenue source that has not yet been enacted. Mr. Beshear's offering is a gamble from a man who is not a noted risk-taker, but it is also leadership. It is long past time for the General Assembly, which confronts a severe fiscal crisis, to exhibit the same quality.