In the aftermath of Gov. Jim Doyle's announcement that the next two-year state budget will confront a possible $3 billion shortfall, taxpayers should be asking:

Doesn't anyone at the Capitol see a pattern here?

After all, the latest budget shortfall follows the $652 million shortfall that required the Legislature to make cuts in the current budget last May.

That, in turn, followed the shortfall in 2006, when state agencies submitted budget requests that threatened to exceed the state's ability to pay by $1.6 billion, which helped lead to the bickering that caused the current budget to be four months late in 2007.

Which followed the budget of 2005, which, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, was destined almost from the start to leave the state $1.8 billion in the hole.

And through it all the governor and lawmakers have left the state's rainy day fund, intended to cushion downturns, woefully underfunded. To make ends meet they have even resorted to tricks, such as swiping more than $1 billion from the fund that was supposed to be set aside to finance road projects and other transportation programs.

The conclusion is simple: State government has desperately been trying to live beyond its means.

It's time to stop.

It's time to recognize that to put together a sound state budget for the next two years, the governor and lawmakers need a dose of fiscal reality.

They need to get far more serious about setting priorities. The state can no longer afford everything at once.

That does not mean there can be no new programs or that all existing programs must be trimmed back. In the fast-moving global economy, Wisconsin must make public investments in education and other high priorities just to remain competitive.

But state government should find outdated or low-priority programs to eliminate. The governor and lawmakers should find more efficient ways to deliver services, to buy supplies and to carry out other functions.

To be sure, officials should also aim to maximize the state's revenue. Joining the multi-state Streamlined Sales Tax Project to help collect sales taxes from online and catalog sales should be an obvious choice. These are taxes the state is owned but is now unable to collect.

But fee and tax increases should be viewed skeptically. With recession threatening, taxpayers simply cannot afford to contribute more.

Governors and lawmakers typically gain popularity by spending the public's money on programs that satisfy constituencies. Wisconsin now needs as governor and lawmakers willing to make unpopular, tough decisions so the state can live -- and thrive -- within its means.

The job begins with the next budget.