Remember that budget meeting I attended about a month or so ago? The one in the basement of the State House where the House Finance Committee was beginning to discuss how we’re going to plug the gaping deficit we’ve got growing right here in our state.

Weird thing is –– besides the fact that I actually went to a meeting like that –– the committee has actually recommended something so breathtakingly radical — at least it is in this state — that I still can’t quite believe it’s true.

Faced with a projected deficit for this fiscal year of $168 million, the House of Representatives last Friday night voted to follow the committee’s recommendation and do the hard thing, the responsible thing, the same thing you and I would do if we were spending more than we were earning.

Cut expenditures.

Now before you get too excited, the Senate has to agree with this supplemental budget.

Moreover, all of this current-year cutting is really just a warm-up act setting the stage for the earth-rattling changes that will be required to close the $384 million deficit projected for next fiscal year. And you can bet there will be opposition from many different groups and alliances all with a vested interest in keeping the status quo going, in keeping the money flowing.

Believe me, I’m not trying to be insensitive to the needs of those who’ve been helped in one way or another by our tax dollars. I understand this is a complex problem and there are no easy answers. But time truly is money. Every minute that turns into an hour into a week and then into a month and we keep spending for the same things, paying the same bills at a rate that’s greater than the money coming in, our debt is only growing bigger, the problem is only getting larger. In the long run, that’s not going to be good for any of us.

And it doesn’t take an economic genius to figure out that in these tough times, with soaring energy costs and food prices along with falling interest rates and employment, consumers are being forced to cut expenditures. Which means lower revenues for businesses. Which means fewer jobs. Which means lower revenues and more expenses for the state, which, of course, means that the $384 million gap we’re projecting is, in all likelihood, going to be even wider.

Not to alarm you, but this situation is a ticking time bomb. My fear is that if we can’t get the numbers to add up, the problem is going to stay unresolved and while you and I are out sailing or playing tennis or watching the Red Sox or whatever sweet distractions of summer might capture our attention, our legislators might to be tempted to take THE EASY WAY OUT so that they too can go off and sail and play tennis and watch the Red Sox.

Of course, you know and I know that THE EASY WAY OUT is synonymous with that nasty little three-letter word that we’re all way too familiar with in this state and which, to the enormous credit of the House Finance Committee and the House of Representatives, was not part of their deficit-avoidance plan. I’m sure you agree that the last thing we need is another tax on businesses. On homeowners. On consumers. On wage earners. On us.

Keep in mind that part of the problem here is that everybody else besides us is organized. The lobbyists are organized. The social welfare groups are organized. The unions are extremely organized. We, on the other hand, are not, mainly because we’re so busy working to pay for all of this.

Well, I say it’s time to get involved, time to say good job so far, now stay the course. And this is coming from someone who has never written to or called her representative. This taxpayer is speaking up:

DO THE RIGHT THING FOR OUR FUTURE. CUT SPENDING.

Speak up now. If you’re at a loss for words — feel free to use mine and clip this column to send to your representatives. (For an e-mail link to your representatives go to www.sec.state.ri.us/vic/)

Otherwise, the only budgets we might end up cutting around here will be our own.

Rita Lussier can be reached at ReetsAL@aol.com or by mail c/o Features Department, The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain Street, Providence, RI 02902.