Hopefully the prioritizing will be happening.....relatively speaking of course....because there is no objectivism in the legislature......just relative to relatives.....relative to personal companies....relative to unions etc etc......
...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
The only folks that look like idiots are the legislature......Paterson is right......our Reps pretend they want us to have the frosting....but there is no cake......time to get back to basics.....
......I cant afford you and you cant afford me........NNTP
...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
Paterson projects a $3 billion deficit in the budget. NYS Comptroller Dinapoli estimates it at $4.1 billion. Paterson says that, without immediate action, NYS will be unable to make state payroll much like California experienced.
Both the Governor and the Legislature are being disingenuous in their statements and actions regarding reducing spending. Recall that the 2010 budget contains 88 new taxes and fees. Where are the spending cuts - reductions in state employment, political patronage, mandated program spending, member item money, etc.? How about discontinuing the payment of per diem expenses to state legislators who live within a commutable distance to Albany and the provision of personal vehicles or auto lease payments to Legislators?
As residents and businesses flee New York State at an unprecedented rate (1.9 million residents left NYS between 1998 and 2008 ) and spending continues to increase unchecked, the burden to be shouldered by those who remain will become even more oppressive.
As residents and businesses flee New York State at an unprecedented rate (1.9 million residents left NYS between 1998 and 2008 ) and spending continues to increase unchecked, the burden to be shouldered by those who remain will become even more oppressive.
It IS bigger than Rotterdam and little Rotterdam's assessors office......FDG, you're up.......
...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
A state of inaction at Capitol Lots of talk but no agreement on budget; gay marriage bill awaits needed votes in Senate
By IRENE JAY LIU, Capitol bureau First published in print: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 ALBANY -- Gov. David Paterson and legislators spent most of Tuesday behind closed doors in intense negotiations about the budget, gay marriage and other issues, and emerged with little to show for it except a commitment to return to the Capitol early next week.
Throughout the day, state leaders and staff negotiated furiously on a number of pieces of legislation outlined by the governor's extraordinary session proclamation, and there appeared to be movement between Paterson, the Assembly and the recalcitrant Senate on the most pressing issue -- the state's estimated $3.2 billion budget deficit. Legislative leaders "have come to the table. They're now talking," Paterson said in an afternoon news conference. "I mean, I don't want to infringe upon their negotiation. They put real numbers on the table now. We're actually talking."
Paterson said he expects to continue negotiations with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson throughout the week, and intends to call lawmakers back to Albany early next week to vote on a deficit reduction plan. The Senate expects to vote on a deficit reduction plan on Tuesday, according to Senate spokesman Paul Rivera.
Republican leaders criticized the Democratic leaders' failure to reach an agreement in time for Tuesday's extraordinary session.
"Today's Extraordinary Session of the Legislature was a complete and utter failure to the people who count the most, the residents of New York state," said Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb in a statement. "We traveled to Albany with the intent of righting the wrongs enacted in this year's budget, which once again spent beyond the state's means."
There was equally intense discussion, but far less clarity, about the fate of the other controversial issue put on the agenda by Paterson -- legalizing gay marriage. The Assembly already passed the bill this year, but the issue has stalled in the Senate. Since taking the majority, Senate Democrats have said they would not put the bill on the floor until they secured the 32 votes necessary for passage. Since the summer, however, gay rights activists have been pressuring Democrats to allow the bill onto the floor for debate and an up-or-down vote, win or lose.
On Tuesday, Senate Democrats debated for hours about whether to bring the bill to the floor, as activists protested outside of the Senate conference room, chanting, "We demand a vote! We demand a vote!"
The uncertainty continued into the evening, as Sampson and the bill's lead sponsor, Manhattan Democratic Sen. Thomas Duane, engaged in furious back-to-back discussions with senators, advocates and the governor.
Senate leaders decided, after much deliberation, that they would continue with their previous strategy, continuing to work on getting the 32 votes necessary to pass the bill, and then put it on the floor for a vote.
Senators Sampson, Duane, and others then met with the governor and advocates and committed to putting the bill on the floor for debate and a vote in the Senate "at a date not certain between now and the end of the year."
It appears that social engineering by our government trumps fiscal management and accountability. 10.2% unemployment. $3B to $4.1B state budget deficit. Looming financial emergency likened to what the State of California experienced during which municipal employees were issued I.O.U.s rather than paychecks, and Paterson appears more concerned about Gay Marriage? Who is driving the state government agenda?
And Paterson's campaign TV commercials promote his alleged platform of "People First"? It is clear to me that Paterson long ago lost focus and command of the powers and duties of his position and instead began campaigning, trying futilely to increase his approval rate which rival that of Congress.
"Today's Extraordinary Session of the Legislature was a complete and utter failure to the people who count the most, the residents of New York state," said Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb in a statement. "We traveled to Albany with the intent of righting the wrongs enacted in this year's budget, which once again spent beyond the state's means."
There was equally intense discussion, but far less clarity, about the fate of the other controversial issue put on the agenda by Paterson -- legalizing gay marriage
I dont really care---get freakin' married,,,have at it,,,,better yet,,,go ahead and procreate....see if you can do better(ha ha ha ha).....
but what REALLY gets under my skin is the dumb statement from the minority leader,,,,,,who just HAPPENED to be first to 'pity' the taxpayer.......you know what you ALL can GET OFF MY BACK.......
I am going to say this and it WILL NOT be politically correct......for all the kids in the room...WARNING
THEY ARE ALL BLIND, DEAF AND DUMB...........
...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
This article from the online Gazette version was emailed to us:
Quoted Text
How to solve state’s money problems
This is the perfect way to solve the state of New York’s money problems. Get rid of the state pension fund. Let the state as well as local workers fund their own pensions just like everyone else. Why should they have a great deal just because they work for state and local governments? Last way to solve the problem is that once you retire you no longer get health care from the state. Either pay for it or go into the Medicare system just like everyone else. This alone would get the deficit down and get the burden off of local taxpayers. Time for the politicians in Albany to get a backbone on this issue.
Is New York Headed for Bankruptcy? Friday, November 27, 2009 1:44 PM By: Dan Weil
New York’s cash reserve is dwindling quickly, and the state faces a crisis if it doesn’t address its budget woes soon.
If the government can’t reach a budget agreement by Dec. 31, the state’s cash reserve will total only $36 million, and that’s only if the state dips to the bottom of its emergency reserve.
New York’s budget deficit totals $3.2 billion.
Special: Get Sarah Palin’s New Book – Incredible FREE Offer -- Click Here Now.
Democratic Gov. David Paterson has urged the legislature to deal with the gap. But with public support for him virtually non-existent, his words carry little weight.
On the bright side, New York’s legislature is famous for waiting until the last minute to address budget problems. So many legislators and outside experts predict the government will act before it’s too late.
In addition, Wall Street bonuses are paid in January, and the state will receive withholding tax revenue from those payments.
But given the lack of progress in negotiations so far, state officials are readying for a cash crisis.
Some government services may have to shut down if no action is taken.
“Unless we act, New York will run out of money, even after we delay payments to schools and local governments,” Patterson said in a web cast Tuesday. “This is an unprecedented fiscal emergency.”
Credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service wrote in a report last week, “The next three months will be critical to the state’s credit rating.”
Moody’s analyst Emily Raimes told The New York Times, “If they solve them [the budget deficits] with one-time measures, that’s going to increase the gaps in future years, and at some point they get so large it becomes difficult to solve them.”
California is in even worse shape than New York. The golden state’s budget deficit will soar to $20.7 billion over the next 18 months, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.
That’s nearly triple the estimate of just four months ago, and the office says $20 billion deficits will likely be the norm for years.
Some suggested savings for Paterson and the Legislature
In case Gov. Paterson and members of New York’s Legislature can’t, or won’t, come up with reasonable ways to reduce the state budget shortfall, how about these for starters? 1) All elected officeholders and government officials should have their pay reduced by 5 percent. 2) Givebacks should be required of state workers, as has been done in some cashstrapped states. That’s better than being laid off, isn’t it? How does anyone to balance the budget on taxes alone? How much more tax can be levied on people earning less than $100,000? If all taxpayers were taxed at 30 percent, the state budget would still need much more funds. 3) All commissions that are not essential to public health and safety be abolished. At present it’s difficult to find a list of all the commissions, the amount of their budgets, and the people on them. 4) Stop all member items — what’s a gift for one member’s district costs citizens in other districts an additional tax burden, especially when all member items are not of the same monetary value. 5) Better control of heating and air conditioning in all state buildings — to not only save energy, but to save money. The state Dormitory Authority announced last year that the temperature would be 68 degrees in winter — it was not clear what the standard would be for air conditioning in summer. 6) Better control of the state’s fleet of motor vehicles. Vehicles should be used for official business only and the use of these vehicles should be closely monitored and strictly enforced. If this rule is disobeyed, the employees appropriating the vehicles for personal use should lose use of state vehicles for a minimum of five years and the state should be reimbursed for the use of these vehicles for personal use. 7) Abolish legislators’ per diems — don’t they get an annual salary? How much is enough for their total salary and benefits?
As one who sees New York state government as more than dysfunctional, I think the main problems are with its Assembly and Senate bodies, and not the governor. In retrospect, Gov. Paterson has suffered a faux pas here and there — in particular, his endorsing the license plate changeover, adding a myriad of people to his staff while he called for a hiring freeze and maybe some aspects of his social life as exploited by the media. I respect his decision to deny the White House and its edict that he not run for governor in the upcoming race. That shows nobility and a man who chooses to stand on his own. For several months now, the governor has been trying to get our lawmakers together to work out what he, and now our state comptroller, have termed a severe budget deficit that faces this state. I am impressed at the attempts Paterson has made and some of the drastic measures he has proposed to avoid the monetary collision this state is facing. The ignorance shown by most of the politicians who hold legislative offi ce in this state, and their collective arrogance and behaviors, should not be forgotten when the next election takes place. I can only hope the dogs that spent years sniffi ng Mr. Bruno get around to the rest of the decaying body known as the state Legislature. I am certain there are a lot of interesting “items” just waiting to be uncovered. I believe most state citizens will see the governor as an OK guy. Maybe the press should fall in line with that instead of painting such an unseemly picture of him and blowing his shortfalls way out of proportion.
State deficit fixed, for now Gimmicks, 1-shot deals avoid tough decisions BY MICHAEL GORMLEY The Associated Press
New York’s Senate on Wednesday approved a plan to reduce the budget deficit by about $2.8 billion, following the Assembly’s approval of the measure hours earlier in an overnight session. The plan falls short of closing a deficit that Gov. David Paterson estimates at more than $3.2 billion and that Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says is $4 billion. Paterson said the Legislature’s action will require him to reduce and delay payments for the last four months of the fiscal year, including school aid and funding to hospitals. The Assembly and Senate also approved a new, less generous pension plan for people yet to be hired into government jobs. The Assembly said the so-called Tier V plan will save the state $48 billion it would cost over three decades to continue the current level of pension benefits for future employees. Paterson has supported the measure. “The creation of a new public employee classification is vital to the state’s fiscal health,” said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat. Paterson also supports the deficit reduction plan as a partial measure. The deficit reduction plan was promoted by lawmakers in recent days as totaling $2.85 billion, but once details emerged, it was clear the figure was less than that. Lawmakers now say the plan totals “more than $2.7 billion.” .......................>>>>...................>>>>.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00101&AppName=1
Logged
>
