The Budget Is Passed But Should It Have Been?

The New York State budget has been finally passed and of course it is filled with the normal "pork" that wastes millions of tax payers' money. See:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04112008/news/regionalnews/_for_gays___dolls_106022.htm

Oh, the waste, the waste. If a Senator or Assembly member wanted to give $1000 for a gay parade, they have that choice to give that. I'm sure none of the members of the New York State legislature are starving so they can personally donate to whatever causes they want. They should not use their position for their personal agendas. The New York State budget is a special interests' wet-dream.


I come from the school of thinking that the budget should be voted down if we can spent $1 less on it. But if we can spend $1 less then we can spend $2 less...and if we can spend $2 less then we can definetly spend $3 less...$100 less...$1000 less....and $10,000 less....$100,000 less.....and $1,000,000....and so on. I have never voted yes on a budget. There is always a way (maybe with a little more work) to spend less.

The lesson that the New York State legislators should learn is that it is OUR money not their money to spend.

No Budget: Day Three

It is day number three with no budget in New York. See:



http://capitalnews9.com/content/top_stories/113537/budget-talks-drag-on/Default.aspx



Apparently the meetings have been more "closed door" than in past years, upsetting watchdog groups and myself. Can't we move past the "three men in a room" process of budget negotiation and move into open government. Don't the people of New York have a right to know what goes into spending OUR money? Remember, we are a country for the people, not for the special interests and politicians.

Still NO Budget in New York

The New York State budget is due on April 1. It is now April 2nd and still no budget. Over the weekend there were hopes that Albany would pass an on-time budget. That is apparently not going to happen. According to numerous media reports, see:

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=677328

The budget is being delayed due to many outstanding issues such as New York City Mayor Micheal Bloomberg's congestion bill, education financing, and a $1.25 per pack cigarette tax.

With discussing education, the New York Post reports that New York State spends more per student than any other state (and Washington, DC). See:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04022008/news/regionalnews/ny_no__1_in_school_spending_104612.htm

Is this something we should be proud of? Do we have the best education system in the state? Do we have the highest high school graduation rates? No. This is another example of how throwing more money at an issue does not fix the problems. I hope the lawmakers working out the budget just do not throw more money down the drain (I mean in the education budget) but try to fix the problems that we are facing.

What? A $1.25 per pack tax! Are $7 cigarettes going to save the state? The state may very well lose tax revenue because people are going to buy cigarettes elsewhere. It might not have been cost-efficient to drive to Vermont or New Hampshire to buy cigarettes cheaper but it may be if this passes. Also, I know people that buy their cartons from Indian reservations to save money. How many more are going to take this step and by-pass the state tax system altogether?

Maybe we should be looking at ways to cut spending not just increase fees and taxes.

Ex-Rep. Sweeney a Political Victim of Spitzer?

In another twist in the Elliot Spitzer saga, not only did Elliot Spitzer try to sway political power in the New York State Senate but apparently did help in shifting the power in the House. Governor Paterson last night gave Attorney General Andrew Cuomo power to launch a full investigation on the New York State Police (NYSP) over new allegations including a unit in the NYSP that gathered information on high ranking state officials. See:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04012008/news/regionalnews/heat_on_hatchet_squad_104467.htm

The Cuomo investigation will try to determine if the NYSP had knowledge of Spitzer's prostitution habits. The investigation will also focus on a former Governor George Pataki security chief and Spitzer friend, Daniel Wiese, if he leaked police reports on ex-congressmen John Sweeney during of election of 2006. John Sweeney lost a very close race in a very heated campaign as leaked police reports surfaced at the end. Did Spitzer have something to do with this also? We now know that he liked the method of leaking information to the media as he did so with Joe Bruno (using the State Police). Is this a pattern? Why is the NYSP becoming a political hit squad?

Governor Paterson did the right thing by ordering an immediate full scale investigation into NYSP actions and methods. But the Cuomo investigation must have teeth. It can not be all talk and no action. It will be interesting to see how hard he comes down on the state police. Paterson and Cuomo better be careful, I'm sure the NYSP have files on them also.