The economic landscape of the nation and state is complicated to say the least. No one is envious of Gov. Jim Doyle’s task of crafting the 2009-11 biennial budget as the state faces an incredible budget deficit.

A $600 million budget deficit in the next year cannot be cured overnight — or in this budget period as a whole, for that matter. But Doyle introduced measures last week that could cut the deficit by $167 million, something Democrats called a “first step” toward solving the state’s budget woes.

Also last week, Doyle said the state will likely receive $3.5 billion from the stimulus package. Part of the federal stimulus plan is to be applied to job creation with $300 million specifically going to state infrastructure projects. In our opinion, initiatives like this warrant such deployment of stimulus funding.

At the same time, the governor announced about $2 billion will be used for education and Medicaid purposes. On this front, we urge the governor to tread carefully and not rely on stimulus dollars to fill the state’s budget deficit. Doyle needs to proceed with budget preparations without taking federal money into account and craft a more conservative plan to deal with the state’s struggles, using stimulus money as a bonus of sorts.

However, Doyle does deserve praise for his administration’s decision not to accept pay raises for the upcoming year. All of the governor’s cabinet members receive six-figure salaries, and at a time of such economic despair, this was a move that obviously needed to be taken but nevertheless should be recognized.

Still, we hope the governor errs on the side of conservative budgeting while he determines his final proposal set to be released tomorrow afternoon. All state agencies, including the University of Wisconsin, are bracing for the worst, and we hope the $3.5 billion in stimulus money will be applied to create an extra spark, not cover for our necessities.