| Five months ago, Governor David Paterson and the four leaders from the New York State Legislature held a press conference I described at the time as a "dysfunctional press conference for a dysfunctional legislature." It was entertaining to watch because of the bickering, but the feeling of nothing getting done was there and it wasn't a good feeling. This state has a lot of issues, especially when it comes to the budget and addressing property taxes. This is a time when bipartisanship should be on display in Albany.
The same can be said for today, as Robinia documented earlier. The constant all fight and no action behavior in Albany is getting us nowhere.
The budget crisis we have in New York is a serious problem. We also have a serious issue with property taxes that has led to more divisiveness and less action. So what do we need to do? What do we do to address these issues? Here are some ideas based on "To Cut, To Cap or To Tax?"
WHAT TO CUT: TAXES. Cutting spending like Governor Paterson wants to cut spending won't solve any problems. In fact, it will just create more problems for us that we would have to address sooner rather than later. But cutting taxes would help, especially if those tax cuts target the middle-class like they should. That will help boost New York's economy. A tax cap is not an answer. A tax cap looks like a great solution, but it really won't do anything except tell municipalities how far they can raise taxes. That's all the tax cap will do. So cutting property taxes is a must. Implementing a circuit breaker in New York will help, but we also need to look at a complete makeover of how we tax our citizens here in New York.
WHAT TO CAP: SPENDING. Cutting spending will only create more problems. So why not meet at the middle? Instead of annual hikes in spending or drastic cuts, how about a spending cap? This is where capping can make a difference. With the renovated tax system we hope to create, we need to implement a much better system for spending New York's taxpayer dollars. Instead of looking to us - the taxpayer - for money, the government should treat their finances like any family. They need to think long and hard about how much they are bringing in and, in turn, how much they should be spending.
WHO TO TAX: MILLIONAIRES. The facts about a millionaires tax are known. A millionaires tax can work and will produce precious revenues here in New York. In this economic climate, millionaires are the ones that can afford it. A millionaires tax has been tried in other states with great success. In other states, more jobs have been created and the number of wealthy people has actually increased. Not only that, but more revenues have been created. New York needs more revenue, but not at the expense of middle-class taxpayers who need a reprieve from high taxation.
This is what the New York State Legislature and Governor Paterson should be addressing. Taxes in New York are out of control and lead to young people and hardworking New Yorkers leaving the state in favor of a better economic environment. Drastic spending cuts will create more problems but if we continue to raise spending levels every year, it will also create problems for us. That is where a spending cap can be beneficial. And making millionaires pay their fair share only makes sense.
Maybe January will be a different story. These "leaders meetings" are relatively useless, but it also showed why New Yorkers voted for a Democratic state senate earlier this month. It was and is time for change. Let's hope they mean it come January. |
