The state’s budget negotiations are spinning in the muddied waters of politics, with no middle ground yet in sight and lawmakers still not as dedicated as they need to be to get the job done.

All that hem-hawing, hand-wringing and brake-pumping is doing nothing more than stymieing progress and holding thousands upon thousands of people hostage as the game continues to be played out in Raleigh.

Adding to the problematic way our lawmakers are dealing with the budget crisis is yet another stopgap measure passed Monday night that keeps the government working at a decreased spending level but gives legislators even more time to come up with a financial plan for the state and its residents.

What it amounts to is more of the same.

Just a few weeks back, lawmakers adopted a stopgap measure with a July 15 deadline. With that passing today and no budget in place, legislators knew something had to be done.

So the Senate rolled out another, this one an open-ended continuing resolution that directs how Gov. Bev Perdue and state agencies can spend money while a budget is still being crafted and a compromised reached.

While we know legislators are under immense pressure to get this one right and get North Carolina back on better financial footing, there’s no reason reaching a reasonable compromise should be so difficult.

And there’s no reason for lawmakers to stop working toward that compromise just because Friday rolls around, as they did last week, much like they did a week earlier when they ditched budget talks for a four-day Fourth of July weekend.

How responsible is that when you have school systems wondering how many teachers they will be able to put in classrooms come August? And that, in turn, means you have teachers and prospective educators waiting to see if they will have jobs.

There are similar scenarios in other state agencies, as well as in county government, where some budgeting is dependent upon what state funds will actually be funneled down this year.

It’s a waiting game that has gone on for far too long, and there’s no reason for this to continue. While we know there are difficult choices to be made, made they must be regardless the political fallout come election time.

Delaying those decisions is like putting off having a tooth pulled. The pain is going to decrease over time; it only makes matters worse and often allows infection to spread.

Such is the case with the budget. Delaying the inevitable will not deaden the pain that will likely be experienced by everyone from state workers to North Carolina citizens, either in job losses, cutbacks or taxes.

No one will escape the brunt of this terrible budget crisis, but it’s a sure bet it will be a much easier burden to bear the sooner people know what’s in store and can prepare for it.

It’s time legislators released their hostages. North Carolinians deserve better.