Per The New York Times, Governor Paterson will speak to New Yorkers about the appalling fiscal outlook caused by the unhappy marriage of the Bush economy and the Bruno/Silver budget.

“There will be no confusion about the gravity of the situation,” said Mr. Paterson, who has been sounding the fiscal alarm repeatedly in recent months, as state budget officials began forecasting large budget gaps and a prolonged and deep recession in the state.

Risa B. Heller, a Paterson spokeswoman, said that the governor would do more than merely warn of worse times ahead.

“The governor will put forth proposals to both get the state’s fiscal house in order and ease the burden on New Yorkers,” Ms. Heller said.

The state budget office’s last official estimates, issued in May, projected a $5 billion budget gap next year, increasing to $7.7 billion for 2010 and $8.8 billion for 2011, owing in large measure to layoffs and billions of dollars in losses at Wall Street firms, which account for a fifth of state tax revenue.

Between the announcement of the largest Federal deficit ever, the weakest consumer confidence reading since 1992, and a weakening currency that's lost half its value since Bush walked into the Oval Office, that's probably not going to be a very happy speech.