You've probably heard that the state of New York has a governor. What the news reports may not tell you, amid tales of sex and scandal, is that the new governor will be facing a persistent problem: a state government that is out of control.

E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for New York Public Policy writes on this issue in a column published in the New York Post:

Spitzer campaigned as an agent of change, but his first budget actually added to the spending baseline that he inherited from Gov. George Pataki.

In fact, despite the budgetary blowout during his last term (when state spending rose 30 percent), Pataki also managed to leave behind a cash surplus of more than $2 billion - which the Spitzer administration had begun to methodically deplete in the face of declining revenue growth. ...

The new governor is free to disown all or part of the 5 percent to 6 percent spending hike (depending who was counting) in Spitzer's second and last budget - an increase that contrasted strikingly with efforts by governors in New Jersey, California and other states to reduce spending.

It's always easier, politically, to add jobs than to cut them--even if the cutting is through attrition. But Gov. David Paterson could create a legacy for himself by bringing the state's budget under control.