Budget Will Hurt Most New Yorkers

Budget focuses on new taxes
Reported in the Times Union

State negotiators cast wide net of increases to give education, health care aid a boost

ALBANY -- State budget negotiators on Friday talked privately of raising taxes on cigarettes, insurers and bankers as lawmakers started working out ways to add hundreds of millions of dollars to education and health care spending.

The quick fix is to implement a higher tax to generate money for the state. But that is exactly all it is…a quick fix. Real reform will only evolve when we can take a moment to stop and reevaluate the cycle we have created. We need to go back to Economics 101. Ultimately, what needs to happen is to lessen the tax burden, cut spending, and this in turn will generate more money. When people are confident that they have more money, they are more comfortable spending it. We then find ourselves in a completely different cycle. It is basic economics…you don’t spend money you don’t have.

How can the government raise spending by 4.7% but not raise taxes? By doing exactly what the Times Union reported… raise credit card taxes, banking fees, tax on insurance policies which will pass the tax to the policyholders through premium payments. This only hurts the hard working middle class.

Capital News 9 reported that they have been told the budget comes with cuts to some very sensitive funds including homeless shelters, low-income childcare, and medication grants for the mentally ill.

New York State government is going to cut funding to these very needy organizations and programs, yet, we are giving corporations like AMD $1.2 Billion in tax credits and incentives to possibly build a factory in Malta. Where are our priorities? We keep pounding our fists saying we need to help the poor, children, and seniors but we continue to cut their funding.

We need to stop spending money we don’t have and serious cuts need to be made. The legislatures’ belts need to be tightened, and New York citizens should hold accountable those who continue to spend without regard to fiscal responsibility.