That phrase is used in the headline of today’s (as yet unposted) press release from the office of state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, whose cash report for the month of September highlights the same growing deficit spotlighted by the state tax department collections report described in this space a few days ago.

Governor Paterson most recently has pegged the deficit for the current fiscal year at $3 billion, but DiNapoli says “based on current trends, the end-of-year gap could be more than $4 billion if no action is taken.”

Meanwhile, pointing to possible cash flow problems, DiNapoli’s release also says the state “may need to borrow from the Short Term Investment Pool (STIP) sooner than expected to meet its General Fund cash flow needs.”

Paterson recently announced $500 million in administrative cuts–barely enough to make up for September’s tax collections shortfall alone.  Latest reports say he will unveil a bigger budget-cutting plan Thursday.