If the people really wanted taxes to be lowered the would be clamoring for the state to start some major overhauls of the mandate system. Mandates forced on municipalities are nothing more than a state tax that has been pushed to the local governments to collect!

The state should start with real pension reform. Let the unions fund their own retirements like the private sector. Why should I have to fund state retirees as well as my own retirement. They do not reciprocate.

Repeal the Triborough Amendment which allows the union to keep their current contract until a new one is negotiated. NYS is the only state in the union with this negotiation killer.

Get rid of the scaffold law which holds the business responsible for any falls even if they are not actually responsible. Even if the employee does not wear their company provided safety harness or if they are actually drunk or negligent. NYS is the only state in the union with this law.

With real reforms NYS would be able to attract more businesses and free up the local municipalities to cut budgets and lower taxes. This would also increase jobs and decrease the cost of living in NYS thereby attracting more people to our state. More people and more businesses provides a larger tax base which in turn means more tax money collected.

Unfortunately many of our state representatives are more concerned with the politics than the taxpayers. They are afraid of the vote and will not buck the system. They need to grow a spine and start making this state a destination rather than a place to run from.