Montgomery County State Representative Matt Bradford says the recession has been going on for a long time already, and it shows no signs of letting up. “We’ve already been in recession for a little over a year, and that’s unique.  Most recessions have averaged about 10 months since the Second World War, so this is a particularly challenging time and a particularly deep recession.”

Bradford says lawmakers will keep that in mind as they review the budget Governor Ed Rendell introduces Wednesday.  And unlike the federal government, he says, the state does not have the option of carrying a deficit.

“Just like regular folks, we have to have an honest balanced budget, and we have to deal with the shortfall that’s in the existing year budget, and deal with the ’09-10 budget as well.”

Bradford says lawmakers from both sides of the aisle need to get together and craft a bipartisan budget.  He appeared Monday on the WNPV talk program “Comment Please by Univest.”