As Kriss said, Thursday’s revenue forecast will likely bring yet another downward revision of revenues.  Worries about the magnitude of the drop have led to discussion of possibly using a number of budget tricks that would push the problem forward.  See the Times, the Olympian, and Washington State Wire.

I think Erik Smith is a little too hard on Arun Raha in the Washington State Wire piece — forecasts are just the best estimate we have of the future, based on the facts currently at hand.  Because of the inherent uncertainty, legislators would be wise to underspend now, as Dick wrote.  After round upon round of reduced revenue expectations, using budget tricks that push costs into future biennia could make the long-term outlook much worse–we really don’t know when revenues will rebound.

For ideas on getting the budget house in order for the future, see the recommendations made in the Thrive Washington paper on budget sustainability.