You know when you leave your apartment for, say, a dinner reservation, and you realize that unless you hit the subway just right, you’re going to be late? That’s basically what New York’s legislature does with the budget every year. For some reason, even though they know the budget is always due by April 1, they’re always racing to the finish, and, almost uniformly, not getting there on time. This year’s budget, though, with a $9 billion deficit to deal with, could be especially tardy: According to the Post’s Fred Dicker, “many predict there won’t be a budget until late June,” and some experts “forecast a new budget won’t be adopted until after the November election, setting a record for lateness.” To continue our earlier analogy, this would be like leaving Brooklyn at 7:50 p.m. for an 8 p.m. dinner on the Upper West Side. You’re definitely not going to make it, and your date (New York’s electorate?) is probably going to be pissed.
