State could save big by cutting funds for illegals
Again the Democratic governor of New York want's to increase our taxes while decreasing services like school aid. It is always the working people in New York that have to carry the burden. I'm sure most people don't realize that New York is a sanctuary state for illegal aliens that cost the taxpayers in New York almost $5 billion per year in free medical, education and the cost of housing them in prison for violent crimes. Our children keep getting less of an education while the school districts spend millions on interpreters and textbooks in Spanish. I'm all for legal immigration, my grandfather immigrated here in the 1920s legally through Ellis Island. By allowing this to happen and not enforcing our current immigration laws is a slap in the face to all of those legal immigrants who waited in line to come to America for a better life. All the governor has to do is cut off all services immediately for illegals and New York will have a budget surplus, not a deficit, but I would not count on that happening with all of the liberal Democrats running the state.
The he would have to pay for more police......we all know what happens when a person's 'needs/wants' aren't met......they become animals....
Although I dont like 'free-loaders'....this will HARDLY fix our problem......it's like spitting in the wind...... Dont worry Mr.Marincic,,,bigger and better things are on the horizon....it's called RealID.....one cannot prove who is illegal unless one can prove who is legal.....
"PAPERS, WHERE ARE YOUR PAPERS?".......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
State is overstepping its boundaries with proposed tax on sugary drinks
First published in print: Friday, December 26, 2008
The "Obesity Tax" on non-diet soda and other sugary drinks, proposed by Gov. David Patterson, is not only an attack on the freedom of residents to choose their own lifestyle, it also represents a theory that has been tested in other areas and has failed miserably. The idea that government can force a change in lifestyle through taxation is ridiculous and is a perfect example of government overstepping its boundaries. No government has the authority to tell anyone what they should and should not drink or eat. But that's not what this tax is really about. It's about revenue for the state.
New York is facing a mammoth budget deficit next year, and the years after next are not looking very promising either. However, the deficit is certainly not the result of low taxes; New Yorkers pay some of the highest taxes in the nation. No, the deficit is the result of poor governance and corruption at all levels of government.
Rather than impose a ridiculous tax on already overburdened taxpayers, why not try reducing the size of government? Let's also trim the welfare rolls by creating jobs for those who are unemployed. To do this, we need an environment where companies can thrive. We need incentives for businesses that put down roots in New York, especially upstate. We also need to break free of the union stranglehold by renegotiating contracts. Our options are plentiful. We do not need to consider new taxes, especially one that a state has no right to impose on its people.
Where does it end? Should we add an 18 percent tax on fast food as well? How about plain old sugary foods? We must decide whether or not we want the state to dictate what we eat or drink through taxation, and whether or not we are willing to trade our freedom for more taxes.
When times are tough, residents will look for better opportunities, even if it takes them to a different state. The last thing we need right now is to encourage a mass exodus through more taxation. New York is bleeding residents as is. Our elected representatives are failing us. Forget not that ours is a government of the people, and for the people. We must take action and make our voices heard, for the future of our state, and our freedom, is in jeopardy.
I personally feel that with all the taxes, fees, and other hidden taxes we pay that the government is taxing us over the constitutional limit that our fore fathers proposed.
I recently had the displeasure of learning that our Gov. Paterson has decided to tackle the problems of both obesity and lack of state funds by increasing taxes for consumers on non-diet beverages. As most people know, diet and "sugar-free" products have sugar substitutes. These substitutes are commonly knows as Equal, NutraSweet and Canderel. What all these sweeteners have in common is that they contain aspartame. Now some will argue one way or another, but I wish to inform you, so that perhaps you can exert, at the very least, some level of caution when ingesting what some would call a poison. Aspartame was discovered by accident in 1965 by a scientist [James Schlatter] working to create an anti-ulcer drug. The substance then went unapproved by the Food and Drug Administration for many years due to the health concerns and possible links to brain cancer. The first approvals came after President Reagan was elected, and then in 1996 all restrictions were removed. Today, it is used in more than 6,000 products. Some studies have shown links between aspartame and seizures, memory loss, change in heart rate, numbness, difficulty breathing, convulsions, hives and the list goes on. Aspartame also breaks down to methanol and formaldehyde. Now at 26 years old, I'm not a scientist, but I am a mother. And I believe it is safer to err on the side of caution than poison myself or my son needlessly. If there is any question, however remote, I would rather drink less regular soda, than more questionable diet soda. I also think it is my choice as the consumer, not the governor's, how I spend my money. So, Gov. Paterson, keep your opinions to yourself and don't start taxing non-diet products in an effort to force consumers to pay more for the real deal.
Somebody get a call into Ms. Kilgallen before the left get their hands on her. We could use her to start to turn things around in this county. Being a young person who understands something like this is exactly the type of person we need active in some way in local politics, either running or speaking out.
I don't eat or drink anything with a sugar substitute. They all make me sick to my stomach. Aspertame bothers me the most. I know many other people who are also bothered by sugar substitutes. I think this tax is ridiculous.
State needs to consider other cuts before cutting workers' raises First published in print: Saturday, January 3, 2009
OK, no problem — I'm in favor of giving up my 3 percent raise. I just have a few things that need to be done:
First, The Rug must go.
Second, The governor and legislators must set an example and not give themselves a raise.
Third, "member items" in the budget must go. After all, we are in a fiscal crisis, no? There is no more "excess" money that can or should be doled out outside of the legislative and budget process.
Fourth, all those commissions and authorities and what-not that seem to proliferate for not-so-obvious reasons in New York (just look at Long Island) and their high-ticket and politically connected staff have to go or be consolidated — or, at least, be subject to scrutiny.
Fifth, my local school district — Stillwater (and others like it ) — needs to consolidate with next-door neighbor Mechanicville. There are dozens of school districts across the state where cost savings from economies of scale can be achieved if districts consolidate and stop indulging in duplicative programs and administrative costs that make little sense other than a sense of "school pride".
Create 4-day week, says assemblyman NEW YORK — A state assemblyman says a shorter work week for some state employees would help New York deal with its budget crisis. Assemblyman Michael Gianaris of Queens is proposing a fourday work week for non-essential employees. He says the change would save an estimated $30 million a year.
Paterson is right: Cut spending, don’t even think about tax hikes
Gov. David Paterson may have a disability of limited eyesight, however his intellectual competence vastly outshines the mediocre celebrity politicians who can not or will not grasp the financial disasters created by the campaign dancers and their special-interest supporters. The taxpaying public clearly voted for change; it wants jobs — not more export of services and import of low-cost products which have been manufactured to sidestep America’s cost of production. The economy, which is in reality a perfect storm impacting Americans who simply cannot pay, will not tolerate higher state and federal taxes. Property taxes are discriminatory, and exclude tax-exempt special interests that receive the same services. If some politicians ignore the economic facts of reducing employment, increasing state and federal taxes and increased property taxes at a time of voter demand for change, change will come. Government is paid for through the consent of the public. The working population is losing jobs and the aging of the population is also reducing the tax base. Is this a difficult concept to understand? The trillions of dollars being printed is in fact a devaluation of the currency. The dollar is only a promissory note backed by the integrity of the United States. No vote from the public was ever obtained prior to the decisions that created this international disaster.
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