When the wolf is at the door about to eat the Democrats for lunch

They change the menu choices.

"The late economist Herbert Stein famously declared that "If something cannot go on forever, it will stop," and sure enough, this logic is now working even in the reality-free zone of liberal New York. Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos seem to be winning their fight to close a $10 billion state budget deficit by cutting spending while favoring tax relief.

The Empire State currently imposes a top tax rate of 8.97% on income over $500,000, a "temporary" surcharge imposed in 2009 that is due to expire at the end of the year. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver wants to extend the tax, as liberals always do, and what passes for a concession in Albany is to raise the threshold to $1 million. Mr. Silver is used to getting his way, and the Manhattan Democrat is backed by the perennial tax increase caucus of organized labor and the progressive Working Families Party.

No surprise there. More notable is that in the negotiations for the budget due in two weeks, Messrs. Cuomo and Skelos have refused to consider this tax hike, or any other new taxes. Mr. Silver seems to be in retreat, while the Governor's other ruptures with Democratic orthodoxy include a 2% cap on property tax increases and budget cuts, like a 10% drop in state operations and especially in the Medicaid program that covers one of four New Yorkers." Wall Street Journal, Market Watch