Dr. Mike Walden, North Carolina Cooperative Extension economist in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State University, responds:

"Well, the reason this is happening is because we're in a national recession, and of course, that affects the private sector, affects people's incomes, it affects their wealth, and so if wealth and incomes go down, that's less for governments to tax. Governments, of course, get their revenues from the private sector. So it should make sense that if the private sector is in a recession so, too, will be the public sector. Now a big difference between the states and the federal government, the federal government can run budget deficits. They can borrow money for their operating costs. Most states, including North Carolina, can't do that, so they have to balance their budgets. Now this new report that came out from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities shows that for the upcoming fiscal years, 43 states are expected to face a shortfall in their operating budget. The average state budget deficit will be 16 percent of total spending. North Carolina, unfortunately, is among those 43 states, but our average budget deficit is expected to be somewhat smaller at about 12 percent of total state spending. That actually translates to $2.7 billion. Now again, we can't have these deficits - states can't have these - so what states will have to do is either raise taxes - that's unlikely - or pare down on spending, which is more likely. Either way, this is going to be a tough, tough year for elected officials."