Cut the budget by 10 percent next year?

Just a week after the current state budget was passed, Gov. David Paterson is pushing his idea to cut next year's state budget by 5 percent to 10 percent, according to the Associated Press.

The Democrat in just his fifth week in office said declining revenues in a recessionary economy will force “serious cutbacks” in a year, according to the report.

He said last week that the “hard-core cutting” will mean a 5 percent to 10 percent cut “off the top.” That's rare even for a pledge in Albany, where “cuts” usually refer to reduced growth in spending. Some recent budgets included spending increases near 10 percent, according to the article.