Reading Spitzer's Lips

[eyeongovt]

It was great to hear Gov. Spitzer last week vow not to raise taxes this year to balance the state budget - but can he live up to his promise?
"We're not going to raise your taxes - and you can take that to the bank," Spitzer promised during his campaign for governor in 2006.

Yet then, after taking office, he immediately presented a budget calling for hundreds of millions of dollars in "loophole-closers" - which businesses and taxpayer groups rightly recognized for what they were: tax increases.

Get ready for similar tricks - not just "loophole-closers," but novel tax-collection methods, higher fees and fines, other "revenue enhancers" and pushing costs to future years - as Spitzer & Co. seeks to plug a $4.3 billion budget gap that's likely to grow even bigger by the time the gov presents his plan.

The right way to deal with that nut, of course, is to cut spending.

After all, even Spitzer says he understands that jacking up levies "sends the wrong message" at a time when the state is trying to boost the economy and spur new jobs, particularly Upstate.

Indeed, the economy in that part of the state has been so anemic that it's been hemorrhaging jobs - and residents - for years, relative to the rest of the nation.

In the past year alone, new Census Bureau figures last week show, the rest of America grew more than 10 times as fast as New York, with much of the state's stagnant (or negative) growth coming from outside Gotham and its suburbs.

Upstate jobs continue to dry up: They fell .6 percent between 2000 and 2006, the Public Policy Institute of New York State reports.

But Spitzer is already hinting at starting budget talks with an opening bid of 5 percent more in state spending. That's well beyond the inflation rate - and it's certain to mushroom even higher once the Legislature gets into the act.

Last budget season, Spitzer (despite promises of spending restraint) kicked off the annual budget fight with a call for 7.8 percent more outlays. Lawmakers quickly upped him to 8.6 percent - about three times inflation.

Facing elections next year, who could expect them to settle for less?

Nor can Spitzer boast a particularly good record with the Legislature (remember the flaps over picking a new state comptroller, campaign-finance reform, the above-mentioned Dirty Tricks Scandal - and last year's budget itself).

But Spitzer won't even be able to square his own grandiose spending fantasies - expanding subsidized health care, more money for education, etc. - let alone rein in lawmakers.

So how will he plug the gap - if not by raising revenues or kicking costs to future years?

We'd like to see the gov pull a rabbit out of a hat - and prove us wrong.

But, again, that seems unlikely.

NY Post

[WNYresident]

Get ready for similar tricks - not just "loophole-closers," but novel tax-collection methods, higher fees and fines, other "revenue enhancers" and pushing costs to future years - as Spitzer & Co. seeks to plug a $4.3 billion budget gap that's likely to grow even bigger by the time the gov presents his plan.

An across the BOARD from top down pay cut. Just like most self employeed people would do when times are tough.