Governor Paterson, who will be speaking at the Democratic National Convention, led the state legislature to commit to $1 billion in budget cuts over the next year and a half. He had originally sought $600 million in reductions for the current fiscal year, and received $400 million from the Assembly and Senate. The additional $600 million will come out of next year's budget. It's a relatively small cut from a state budget of about $122 billion, but getting the Legislature to assemble and reopen the budget, and to make cuts in an election year, was no small feat.

The Daily News editorial board called the cuts "not even close" to enough to fix the damage from the poor economy. Newsday called the effort "wholly inadequate," and the Post argued that by refusing to tone down spending for special interests while pushing for a "millionaire's tax," the Assembly was putting "a thumb in taxpayers' eyes."

The only person the press seems pleased with today is Governor Paterson — but that seems to be because compared to the legislature, anyone who even just talks about reining in spending seems like a hero.

Legislators Are Negotiating to Cut Budget by $1 Billion [NYT]