New York, NY —

New York’s $9.2 billion budget deficit is expected to balloon to $15 billion next year, according to Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch.

Speaking to a midtown audience of real estate developers, Ravitch said he does not expect the state to reach a budget deal any time soon, despite the state's desperate fiscal situation. The budget is nearly one month late and Ravitch says there are no external triggers forcing lawmakers and the governor to act.

"States can’t go into bankruptcy. They are not included in the bankruptcy code," he says.

Today’s outlook is different from the city's fiscal crisis of the 1970s when the state couldn't find any lenders. Instead, he says, bankers are circling Albany with tempting offers.

"The financial community is ready to lend the state all kinds of money. They have 20-odd schemes they are suggesting about how the state can borrow money," Ravitch says.

But New York has to be careful; borrowing would dig the state even deeper into fiscal trouble. Ravitch says New York is not alone: all 50 states are facing a total of $350 billion in deficits and more than $2 trillion in unfunded pension liabilities.

Gov. David Paterson asked the legislature to take an up or down vote on his budget proposal yesterday, but lawmakers adjourned for the week without heeding his request.