As state lawmakers face the undeniable need to cut spending in the face of what is now officially being called a recession, they need to accept one harsh reality: the state needs to cut its workforce.

Citing high state spending and a “mammoth collapse” in revenue, New York Gov. David Paterson on Wednesday said that state agencies need to find even more cuts than he demanded earlier in the year.

He's called the Legislature back for a special session to cut $600 million from the operating budget the state is already working under, and to set the framework for a more responsible 2009-2010 budget.

Paterson stopped short of calling for a reduction in the number of state workers but has ordered an immediate freeze on hiring at state agencies.

But with powerful unions behind the state's 200,000 employees, even the mention of addressing the size of the state workforce brought quick reaction from some.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos was quick to point out that addressing the state's fiscal crisis must be accomplished in such a way at to “minimize any disruption to the state workforce to protect workers and their families.”

The president of the Civil Service Employees Association was even more direct, calling talk of reducing the state workforce “a sham” and said the union would not stand for economic solutions that “create more misery.”

Sure, job cuts would hurt individual families, but the bloated state workforce is one a biggest parts of the problem, and all New Yorkers are being hurt by it.

There are no easy solutions, but doing nothing means that taxes and fees continue to rise right along with the state's debt.

A hiring freeze is good, but it doesn't go far enough.

Paterson has helped control the growth of the state workforce. Now he needs to push for an outright reduction.