Manchin: No Tax Hikes, Across-the-Board Budget Cuts in '09

So reports The Associated Press, after Manchin said he is instead "linking agency funding levels to performance."

While his administration had predicted an $11.7 million shortfall next year, Manchin "believes the state can balance its next budget without hurting services," the article said.

Besides "judging programs by performance," the governor told AP he has "asked tax officials to review collection rates and check for credit loopholes to close."

Manchin also continues to believe West Virginia is faring better fiscally than most other states. Offering context, the Charleston Daily Mail reports that "while West Virginia is on tap to lose nearly 5,000 jobs next year, the pending economic woes likely will pale in comparison to what happened during the early 1980s."

"The state this time is positioned to weather the storm better than most of the country, but that surely wasn't the case two decades ago," that article said. "The West Virginia job loss rate was roughly triple that of the nation's during the 1980s recession."