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EDITORIALS
Don’t blame Paterson for state’s woes

    It’s probably only a matter of time before the pundits start referring to New York’s governor as Patersunk, because as his poll ratings continue in a sharply downward trajectory, his chances of getting elected 20 months from now seem increasingly remote. Some of the governor’s problems may be of his own doing, but by and large it seems as if he’s being made a scapegoat.
    New York has gotten hammered by the recession, worse than most states thanks to our reliance on tax revenues from Wall Street — which, for anyone who might have missed it, is Ground Zero in the current recession. The governor inherited a huge mess, much the way President Obama inherited one, but doesn’t have the luxury that the president does — of printing money to stimulate our economy. He had a choice — proposing deep spending cuts and then either raising income taxes and getting everybody mad at him, or nickel-anddiming special-interest groups with new or increased fees, and raising their ire.
    At least those were the responsible choices, and he took the latter. He could have ignored the mess, the way previous Legislatures and governors have done, trying to balance the budget with smoke and mirrors or borrowing billions, both on and off the books. But the state’s fiscal problems are far worse than at any time in recent memory, and Paterson deserved at least some credit for trying to address them. Except it seems that all he’s gotten is scorn.
    The public employees’ unions have mounted an irresponsible, big-budget ad campaign denouncing his spending cuts while proposing no real alternatives (taxing the cigar-chomping fat cat in their commercial would generate a mere $5 billion, less than half of what’s needed to close this year’s deficit). And special-interest groups across the state — from massage therapists to bowling alley owners to soda makers — have whined openly about the impact Paterson’s fees would have on them. It’s hard to dismiss their concerns, though, because the recession has already hurt their business.
    The governor absolutely botched the selection of Hillary Clinton’s replacement, his staff has seemed in disarray at times, and he hasn’t acted forcefully enough to push his agenda when it’s come under fire. But considering his lack of executive experience coming into the job and the circumstances under which he was thrust into it, he really hasn’t done a half-bad job. The problem is that too many New Yorkers still expect a free lunch, and Paterson knows it would be irresponsible to give it to them.
    The federal stimulus windfall may get him off the hook to some degree, but we hope the fear of becoming a half-term governor doesn’t cause him to completely lose his nerve.