Chaos has overtaken. Are at loggerheads over the state's hard-pressed budget. Yet they won't do the obvious, sensible thing: put a hold on the next scheduled cuts in the income and single business taxes. Workers wouldn't even notice; a pause would simply mean their payroll withholding next year would be the same as this year. As much as the business community moans and groans, it ought not to find a short wait for reductions too burdensome. Lest anyone think the budget problem is not all that serious, consider this: At the current rate, the state will face a $1-billion shortfall for the budget year that begins. Not coincidentally, that's the first budget the new will prepare. Most of the current cast of characters will have exited, stage right. Putting the next round of on hold could cut that billion-dollar shortfall about in half, according to the Citizens Research Council. Leaving the cuts in place means state revenues will grow more slowly than inflation for years. How did the state get in so much trouble so fast? For starters, the drop from boom incomes of the 1990s was more steep than anyone figured. It started with cutbacks in overtime pay, but the more long-lasting impact has come from cuts in bonus pay and a steep falloff in capital gains -- all of which used to create more tax dollars. Changes, particularly the paring back of the estate, also play a role. But Gov. John Engler and the Legislature have compounded the problem by failing to align expenses and revenue. Instead, they've raided every standing pot of money they could find, and taken other onetime steps. Those tricks last only so long. Have already agreed to take the state's rainy day fund down to almost zero. That's what the fund is for, of course, but in a saner time had agreed that if the fund fell below a certain amount, they'd halt at least the single business tax. Chalk up another worthless promise. The few cuts they've discussed will cause multiple pain at the local level. They're at revenue sharing, the arts, preventive health, Focus: HOPE, economic development, school readiness and fees to free satellite dishes.