Alabama’s General Fund budget is in a horrific mess that will force legislators to make tough decisions during their upcoming session.

Before the state Legislature convenes Tuesday for the 2012 legislative session, it is already in a deep financial hole.

The General Fund budget is about $400 million short of funding state services at the current level. Some in Montgomery say it could be a $500 million problem.

That is not a good a way to start a legislative session.

The Republican majority has already vowed that no new taxes will be added under their watch. So, the only alternative to fix the problem involves significant cuts to essentially every state agency. There will be consequences for that approach, but the question remains which areas will be hardest hit.

Will there be fewer teachers? How many state workers will lose their jobs and who will take up the slack? Which roads will remain unpaved and which needed road projects will be eliminated? How many prisoners will receive a get out of jail card because the state can no longer afford to house, feed and care for them? How many more people will have their health care needs ignored because of cuts to Medicare?

The list goes on and on, and with every cut comes a domino reaction. Fewer teachers means larger class sizes and fewer educational offerings. Allowing prisoners out of prison will lead to more crime, and eliminating health services will lead to a worse quality of life for all Alabamians.

It’s human nature to say financial cuts are the right way to go, at least until the cuts hit home and take away services you or a loved one needs. Cuts cannot be the only solution.

No one wants to pay more taxes, and all legitimate cuts should be made before even suggesting a tax increase. To automatically say “no new taxes” is irresponsible, however.

People often say government should be run like a business. That appears to be a wise idea when we see the country go further into debt by spending more money than it brings in each year. No business or family can survive by outspending its means.

The same principle applies on the other side, though. A struggling restaurant, for example, cannot survive by slicing the menu or eliminating the selection. A good restaurant has to raise prices on occasion to offset the increased costs of doing business.

If Alabama is going to get out of its financial hole, a combination of cuts and increased revenue has to be implemented. To ignore that common sense approach is not a wise decision.