EDITORIAL: No shutdown, but no budget, either

There was no historic shutdown of New York State government yesterday. The legislature may be dysfunctional and delusional, but it's not deranged.

Lawmakers yesterday approved an 11th weekly extender bill to keep the government operating. A real budget is now 76 days overdue, and there's little indication that any plan to break the stalemate is in play.

Despite bleating about Gov. David A. Paterson's unprecedented strategy of forcing them to choose between the extender bills, which include his spending cuts, or a shutdown, they made the smarter political choice. But it's Paterson who gets the credit for the smart moves. Since the governor can't get the legislature to agree to his plan, with its deep cuts without borrowing, he is doing it piecemeal. This weekly drive to cobble together a budget may not be a demonstration of model government, but already more than 50 percent of Paterson's budget has been passed - though there's still more tough cutting to do.

For the first 10 bills, Republican senators uniformly voted no, to protest being shut out of the budget negotiations. Republican support yesterday wasn't ideological or a shift in strategy, but an acknowledgment that two of their members represent the Albany area, where there are many state workers who'd lose their paychecks in the event of a shutdown.

Still, the high-noon drama may be just a week away: That's when the choice could be a shutdown or cuts to school aid. hN