Politics on the Hudson

   State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said the $2.1 billion projected deficit announced by Gov. David Paterson’s Budget Division today illustrates a bad habit New York has—spending money it doesn’t have. The comptroller said he brought up concerns in April about the budget.

   Here’s a statement the comptroller released this afternoon.

   “The governor’s Updated Financial plan confirms the concerns I raised in April when the state budget was adopted. New York has a very real and growing problem, and the state still has not made enough progress toward aligning recurring spending with recurring revenues.

   “The June cash report my office released last week indicated weaknesses in revenues for the first quarter that were offset by one-time payments and delayed spending. Those weaknesses have not been diminished.

   “The governor and Legislature need to focus on addressing this year’s problems. But they also have to look at the real and difficult choices necessary to solve New York’s bad habit of spending money we simply don’t have.”