| They say that when sausage is made, it sometimes smells in the kitchen. Albany government never passes the smell test (that's why the Capitol is in such a windy spot...), but, at budget season, it gets worse.
Which is why Lt. Gov. Ravitch's Five Year Plan to Address the NYS Budget Deficit is such a welcome breath of fresh air, even if it does admit we will have to borrow this year.
Lawmakers' reactions, of course, focus on what the plan means for this year's budget, and whether we can borrow to close the giant gap. Ravitch's report, on the other hand, focuses on changing the rules to take some of the shenanigans out of the process, and put some relative adults (an independent Financial Review Board) in charge of reporting actual-factual facts about the State we are in....
To me, if our sorry excuse for a state government were to, through a series of personal foibles on the part of Executives, fall into the hands of a technocrat with more faith in accountants than politicians.... that would be an excellent thing. Go read the whole thing. |
