This news is not shocking to average North Dakotans who have seen the effects of low crop and low energy prices over the last few years.

The question is: will North Dakotan's leaders stop trying to spin the situation as a "leveling off" as State Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger says?

Four consecutive quarters of negative growth is not a "leveling off" - it's what a bubble burst looks like.

The Bakken Bubble has burst, when it comes to economic activity. The fact is that the Bakken's impact on the economy was underestimated on the way up, and is now drawing down faster than many elected officials would like to admit.

But the time to admit is now.

As OMB Director Pam Sharp told legislators this week:

North Dakota is in a “very precarious” position of not knowing where slumping oil and agricultural commodity prices will land as the possibility of a special legislative session looms if next month’s state revenue forecast looks bleak, the state’s chief budget official told lawmakers Monday.

If the forecast predicts a significant revenue shortfall, Gov. Jack Dalrymple will consider calling lawmakers into special session to address it through targeted cuts or revenue transfers, as opposed to an across-the-board allotment like the 4.05 percent cuts sustained by most state agencies in February, Office of Management and Budget Director Pam Sharp told the Legislature’s Budget Section.

Trying to base a state budget on what oil do is a losing battle.

Instead of worrying about how much money should be spent, our lawmakers should focus on how much government they want to be responsible for funding.