It's happening again. California state leaders have backed themselves into a corner, and will be forced to act quickly, if not in a panic, to stave off total disaster.

It wasn't a smart way to deal with the energy crisis, and it's an even worse way to deal with the budget crisis. But it's happening. Again.

According to Elizabeth Hill, the state's nonpartisan legislative analyst, Gov. Gray Davis and the Legislature can't just borrow and tax their way out of the budget hole, as is currently proposed. Something concrete must be done to address the state's long-term, structural budget problems.

At the same time, says Controller Steve Westly, the state has to move fast, because if it waits as long to pass the budget as it did last year, state government will shut down. The state has only until late August or early September, when it will run out of cash and be unable to borrow.

The result of the months-long budget stalemate is suddenly becoming quite clear. State lawmakers wasted precious time that could have been spent in responsible and productive fiscal planning, and instead will now have to scramble for something anything that will keep the state running.

If that quick fix turns out to be Davis' current budget, it would patch over the deficit with massive borrowing and new taxes and still leave the state staring an $8 billion deficit in the face next year. As Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters notes on the opposite page, the state is still playing catch-up to its borrowing and overspending in previous budgets.

The simple fact that most state leaders seem unable or unwilling to grasp is that sooner or later, the chickens will come home to roost. And, right now, they're at the gate.