As New Yorkers tighten their belts to keep food on their tables and a roof over their heads, the New York State budget raises taxes.
As New Yorkers face an economic crisis greater than any since the Great Depression, the New York State budget makes it harder for small businesses to survive, and chases jobs out of our state.
As local county, town and city budgets strain to make ends meet, the New York State budget continues to pressure them with unfunded mandates.
The wild spending increases in the newly enacted budget--over EIGHT TIMES the size of the Consumer Price Index--is an insult to every hard-working New Yorker. The continued failure to reign in out-of-control agencies like the MTA is an exercise in political malfeasence.
The only people who gain from this budget are incumbent politicians, who used your tax dollars to appease pressure groups to support their re-election.
This abuse must stop. I propose the following reforms:
1. Establish publicly announced priorities--and stick to them. An open, public discussion of budgetary priorities will shed light on attempts to use the state budget for purely partisan political goals.
2. Amend legislative rules to empower individual legislators to have more of an impact on the state budget process. Currently, only the governor, and a small number of legislative leaders--including Speaker Silver, and Senators Smith and Klein, have much of a role. Allowing individual legislators to play their proper part will open up the process.
3. Bring the spending and funding of all state agencies and quasi-public organizations, such as the MTA and the Port Authority--into full public view, and public control.
4. Keep taxes low enough to be competitive with neighboring states and other regions that seek to capture our businesses. Provide significant tax credits to retain and gain jobs. Our individual and business taxes are already too high; lower them now.
5. Insure that all funds are used for the public good, not for public relations by elected officials hoping to gain an edge in their re-election campaigns.
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