Barbara Anderson on the Bay State's tax fetish.

Governor Deval Patrick, in an effort to let us know how serious the budget crisis is, says that "if we fired every single state employee, we'd still have a billion-dollar hole."

Of course we would. Many of those employees would go out on instant pensions. Others would collect unemployment, have state-subsidized health insurance, or get a job at one of the independent authorities where they would start to accrue bigger pensions like those available at the MBTA after 23 years.

Would we still have a $28-billion state budget to go with the billion-dollar budget hole? Who would be running it and spending the money? Governor, what's your point? That payroll costs aren't much of the problem?

Can we stop being silly now?

At least Patrick's sticking to his demand for "reform before revenues." Unfortunately, the Legislature is sticking to its resistance to reform.

As various Democrats have said: "We can't reform our way out of this crisis."

Translation: "Let's go directly to the revenues."

So the Senate opened its budget debate by passing a 25-percent sales tax hike and local option taxes. Maybe it will get to reforms after my column deadline. Darn, it's hard to write while holding my breath.

UPDATE: More from Cape Cod Today, Wayne Woodlief, the AP and Boston Phoenix.

SECOND UPDATE: More from Adrian Walker, Scot Lehigh, WBZ, WCVB, Red Mass Group, the Globe and Herald.