In his column, Sid Salter calls our state’s economic outlook, the worst since the great depression. On the day Gov. Barbour is to release his budget, Salter warns:

Expect the most austere gubernatorial budget recommendations in modern history, which may include, in no certain order: more budget cuts, agency eliminations, consolidations or mergers, ditto for the state education community, state employee furloughs, four-day work weeks or outright layoffs.

It’s amazing how on one hand Gov. Barbour can travel the state and country talking about how effective a governor he is because of his “fiscal management” but at the same time he readily admits that the state’s economy during his administration has gotten worse each year, as reflected by the needs of deeper and deeper budget cuts.

Of course, the Legislature could do something about the governor’s horrific fiscal policies. The Democratic leadership in the House has protected our public schools, highway patrolmen and state hospitals from being cut to the bone.

The House would have been more successful if the Republican leadership in the Senate (i.e. Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and President Pro Tempore Sen. Billy Hewes) actually led instead of blindly following their governor into fiscal abyss we now face.