The task of cleaning up Ohio's mammoth budget mess is going to be excruciating, but the principles are simple: State lawmakers have to cut spending or raise taxes or do a combination of both.

The state is looking at a nearly $1 billion shortfall in its current budget, which ends in June. And that will have carryover effects in the subsequent two-year budget in which the state will have to raise or cut as much as $8 billion.

Barring an instantaneous economic recovery that floods the state with tax revenue beyond all estimates, lawmakers have no other options.

So Gov. Ted Strickland's statement Tuesday that he won't rule out a tax increase was a glimmer of hope that fiscal reality yet might have a seat at the table when Ohio's 2010-11 budget is hammered out.

Up to now, state leaders have been unable to bring themselves to acknowledge the possibility of raising taxes.

The wildly unrealistic budget originated by Strickland and amplified by the Democratic-dominated House of Representatives is in the Republican-controlled Senate. A June 30 deadline looms for the two houses to compromise on a balanced budget, so equation-balancing time is approaching.

Yes, Strickland put forth an irresponsible plan: $7 billion of the $54 billion total was to be propped up with one-time money, including federal stimulus funds. But give him credit for being the first to admit the obvious publicly.

In a speech to the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, the governor was asked about a tax increase and reluctantly admitted a willingness to discuss it. "I don't think it's appropriate to enter negotiations with a lot of lines drawn in the sand," he said.

Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, isn't there yet.

After Strickland's comments, Harris said: "It's not on the table. We are not for raising taxes."

That leaves him with few tools to fix the looming shortfall.

And the no-new-taxes pledge might not even be as poitically safe as Harris seems to think. Sure, voters hate paying more taxes, but they might hate double-digit cuts in school spending , driving on crumbling highways and "closed" signs at state parks even more.

The day is fast approaching when Harris, House Speaker Armond Budish and Strickland will have to acknowledge the plain facts and agree to support the tough choices needed to balance the budget. It's their constitutional duty, and they've already dodged it too long.