For months, Governor Rell and lawmakers have been talking about the “tough choices” the budget deficit is presenting.

And some of those choices have been tough – like cuts to Medicaid and social services... some could be tough, like whether to raise the income tax rate... but some seem relatively easy.

Like borrowing a billion dollars to plug last year’s hole.

Today where we live, we’ll talk about the difficult decisions at the state capitol, now that a new fiscal year is underway…without a state budget in place.

We’re joined by WNPR’s Capitol Region Reporter Anna Sale and Keith Phaneuf of the Journal Inquirer. We’ll also hear how other states are handling their budget crises when it comes to tax reform and health policy.