New York is in dire straits when it comes to the yawning budget deficit. Not only have years of rampant spending in Albany caught up with us, but the state’s revenues have also taken a crippling blow. Apparently all of those Wall Street bonuses, (you know, the ones they won’t be getting?) made up a significant chunk of the Empire State’s income.

Now we are looking at a $15 billion deficit, give or take. It’s no wonder Governor Paterson has chosen to bring his budget proposal to the table early. Everyone knew it was going to get ugly.

All eyes were on Albany Wednesday for the unveiling of the governor’s plan. It was even worse than I expected. In this time of economic crisis, the plan seems destined to send us further into recession rather than help us bounce back.

New York consistently ranks as one of the most heavily taxed of the 50 states. Yet in addition to the wholesale slashing of services ($9.5 billion from education, health care, economic development and all that good stuff), Paterson has proposed a total of 137 new and increased taxes.

Tell me, just how is taxing sugary beverages, hair cuts, movie tickets, cab rides and music downloads going to balance the budget? And these are just a few of his suggestions.

New York has the highest gas prices in the continental U.S., but that isn’t stopping the governor from suggesting we eliminate the cap on the state’s gas tax.