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Governor is right in proposing budget cuts beginning now
August 15, 2008

I’m writing today to urge you to get involved. The state legislature is returning to Albany for a special session on Tuesday, August 19, and it is imperative that you contact our state legislators to urge them to support two fiscal accountability proposals forwarded by Governor David Paterson – state government spending reductions and the school property tax cap.

This week, the governor proposed a $2.6 billion savings plan for New York State to cut into an anticipated $6.4 billion budget deficit predicted for next year. His announcement was consistent with his leadership earlier this year in the passage of important reform to the state’s Brownfields Cleanup Program that provided fiscal accountability, and the introduction of an innovative school tax cap to help relieve the burden on local taxpayers.

It’s no secret to the business community that the cost of NYS government continuously has escalated to well beyond the point of affordability – we’ve been preaching it for years. Governor Paterson followed up on his across-the-board 10 percent cut in state agency spending instituted at the end of July – which will reduce the size of state operations by $630 million – with his proposal to reduce state spending further by an additional $1 billion this year. We believe this is certainly an appropriate mid-year action with the fiscal disaster that is looming – with an additional $1.6 billion targeted for next year’s budget. As the governor pointed out succinctly in his comments, these reductions simply have to take place – and the longer we wait, the more aggressive the response will have to be.

Of course, proposed spending reductions eventually raise the question, “From where do they come?” Certainly, as the governor indicates, cutting spending is not going to be painless. “Belt-tightening” is never easy – not for government, private businesses or family budgets. But when decades of overspending collide head-on with an economy in recession, direct and substantial measures must be taken. Albany must demonstrate a commitment to changing the way it spends and it is going to take a leader bold enough to say “this is how it’s going to be different.” Governor Paterson has taken such a stance and we strongly support him in that effort.

That said, while municipalities that will be impacted by these cuts are being asked to provide the same services they’ve been providing but with fewer resources, it is vital that Albany also offer cost-cutting tools such as reform of such burdensome institutions as the Taylor Law, Wicks Law and the pension system. We urge the governor and legislature to make such reforms a priority aligned with the spending reductions.

Labor’s Working Families Party is running television and radio campaigns in opposition to the governor’s proposed cuts and property tax cap. It’s critical that legislators hear our perspective, too. Click here to send a message to the legislature to support Governor Paterson’s proposal, and cut state spending next Tuesday when legislators return for special session.

Andrew J. Rudnick
President & CEO