Gov. Patrick Warns Of More State Budget Woes

Gov. Deval Patrick is warning of state budget pain ahead. With another deficit looming, Patrick said this month he will propose slashing $1.5 billion from the budget.

"Having taken billions of dollars out of state spending already in the last few years because of the economic downturn, it's very hard to imagine that there's going to be anything that will be spared," Patrick said.

"You know, we've been making tough decisions for the last few years. They have, for me, in many cases been painful, because there are human beings behind those line items. But every single year, working with the legislature, we've had an on-time budget that is balanced."

The state's budget problem is more acute because of the end of one-time federal stimulus funds.