After the speech, one question for Governor Cuomo: How?
In Governor Andrew Cuomo’s state of the state address, he “outlined an Emergency Financial Plan that closes the $10 billion deficit in the 2010-11 budget without raising taxes or borrowing.”
Still missing is the very simple question of How?
His one specific budget-cutting proposal, imposing a one-year salary freeze on public employees, is a drop in the bucket.
His next proposal, “holding the line on taxes” could actually make the deficit bigger. So would his plan to publicly fund political campaigns. As would his plan to allow a surtax on millionaires to expire.
A plan to impose “a State spending cap limiting growth to the rate of inflation” is a long-term tweak that doesn’t begin to stop the flood of red ink we’re facing now.
It’s troubling that the new commission he created to “reinvent” state government — called the Spending and Government Efficiency Commission — won’t make its first report until May 1st.
That’s a full month after the April 1st budget deadline. How will that help close next year’s deficit?
Gov. Cuomo also called for a full-scale overhaul of the Medicaid program. But once again there are no specific ideas as to how. Again he creates a new commission, this time called the “Medicaid Redesign Team.”
He says he’ll first get “findings and recommendations” by March 1st. Will the governor’s office craft specific legislative proposals between then and the budget deadline?
He appointed yet another commission to review unfunded mandates — this one called the “Mandate Relief Redesign Team.”
Put bluntly, the creation of a list of new commissions is not the concrete, specific set of plans that I was expecting in this speech.
Andrew Cuomo has known for the better part of a year that he would be New York state’s next governor.
He’s had months to watch his predecessor, David Paterson, who pushed concrete (and deeply unpopular) plans for cutting the state budget.
But so far, this governor’s budget agenda remains largely a blank slate. Does he see more another big wave of job cuts coming? He hasn’t said.
Once again, this new governor outlined where he wants to take us, cutting $10 billion from the state’s budget without raising taxes. We’re still waiting for a road map for how he hopes to get us there.
Tags: nys budget, politics
Maybe he plans to do what the Manhattan Madam proposed: legalize drugs and prostitution.
Of course, if done, the tax on them should be fair and not the outrageous tax imposed on tobacco. Otherwise there will be a black market on those time honored services.
I got the same impression in reading the highlights of his speech. Seems his only answer is to create more gov’t to find ways to cut government. I didn’t read one specific thing on how to address the fiscal mess.
Pete,
I assume you’re being sarcastic, but if not, you should know that Cuomo has already stated he is against medical marijuana so I assume he wants nothing to do with legalized drugs as a revenue source. Too bad because it could raise some revenue and at the same time curb the cost of arresting, prosecuting, and housing low level users.
This looks like a job for the Deputy Secretary for Local Government at the Department of State!
Not being sarcastic. Just being wishful. We blow too much money on wars we will never win.
Brian Mann said,
“His next proposal, “holding the line on taxes” could actually make the deficit bigger… As would his plan to allow a surtax on millionaires to expire.”
No they wouldn’t. The deficit projections assume no tax hikes and that the surcharge expires.
This is what happens when a liberal democrat thinks he’s attending a Tea Party. He becomes a Mad Hatter. If you recall, the way the place settings worked at the Tea Party Alice attended was once guests had finished what was on their plates, they merely rotated to the next dirty place setting. No dishes got washed. That’s what New York State is in for. So be prepared to eat off of the last administration’s dish ware. Welcome to Wonderland.
I’m guessing he is going to be another backroom dealmaker type. What’d you expect from a Cuomo?
Gov. Cuomo does have a budget address coming up, doesn’t he? I am sure he will provide much more detailed info there on addressing the deficit. A state of the state address is a different animal–big picture and broad strokes. It is about setting tone, providing context, and a frame work. He accomplished that. Stay tuned.
I will give him credit for at least bringing up medicaid. This is where the savings are, we can no longer afford what we offer, things like dental, eye care etc., will probably have to go to get any real savings. NYS chooses the most generous medicaid plan, many other states do not choose to offer these services.
mervel,
i’ve heard that on a federal level, medicare fraud is a multibillion dollar business. perhaps some investment on the state level could net a few million?
The 20% across the board cuts will make a big difference. This along with the prison closings that will probably happen will have very serious ramifications for the northern part of the state. It looks like many jobs at places like the APA, DEC, ORDA, etc. will be gone soon. That will hurt. Add the tax cap and it is not going to be pretty. He seems to understand that “upstate NY” is hurting but I am not sure he knows what is going on way upstate. I hope the efforts to spark some economic activity make it north of Albany. Probably not.
All that said, the devil is in the details. And this speech was cute with its power point slides etc. But I was very disappointed with the substance. I wish him luck.
verplank, you are absolutely correct. NY is probably a serious hotbed for Medicare fraud. We must be based on the amounts we spend.
It depends on where cuts are made. Getting rid of some unnecessary regulatory positions and licensing requirements could both save money and spur economic activity by making it easier for people to start and operate their own business. We really don’t need barber shop and nail painting inspectors. They probably do more harm than good.
Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins had a plan maybe Cuomo can learn from it. Just one point of his plan, a stock transfer tax of 1 cent to 5 cents per trade would amount to billions in revenue.
http://howiehawkins.com/2010/platform/26-progressive-tax-reform.html
Scratchy –
Yes, allowing the surcharge tax on millionaires to expire expands the deficit. It’s simple math.
If you reduce revenues, you grow the deficit.
One solution, obviously, is to make cuts that off-set the revenue reduction.
My point is that the governor hasn’t told us what those cuts will be.
Brian, NCPR
Over the next three years our state deficits will total $40,000,000,000. There is no way that can be addressed through cuts alone. Taxes will have to be raised to pay the bills. Like anyone who is in debt, paying off our obligations is the right thing to do–no matter how difficult and painful that may be it is far better than going down the path of repudiation. That would be a true financial train wreck and none of us would be unscathed.
Speaking of Medicaid fraud, the Justice Dept. has recouped nearly 5 billion at the federal level since mid 2009. Most recently, they filed suite against three pharmaceutical companies who settled out of court and agreed to pay a combined fine of just under $450 Million. These three companies were over billing Medicaid for prescription drugs.
This $5 Billion dollar sum is the largest amount recouped in the history of the Justice Dept. My point in mentioning this is that there are huge savings to be made simply from making an honest effort at stopping the massive fraud that occurs within both Medicaid and Medicare. If the feds can do it, why can’t NYS? Politicians give fraud prevention much lip service, but they never seem to make it a priority. Attorney General Eric Holder and the Obama administration should be screaming at the top of their lungs about this. Especially given that Health Care reform is back in the news.
A good place to get some quick cash is by enacting a land use permit fee for those people using State lands for recreation. If you don’t have a hunting, fishing or trapping license and utilize State lands (camping, hiking, canoeing, rafting) you should have to buy the permit. Unpopular with the granola and gore-tex crowd, but fair.
“A good place to get some quick cash is by enacting a land use permit fee for those people using State lands for recreation.”
Bret, in other words a “targeted tax increase”. Yes, that would raise revenue.
The problem here is enforcement. It costs money. I bet that half the people fishing on the Saranac Chain in the summer don’t have a license. When was the last time you got checked? Or I would like to see the numbers for places like the Saranac Islands camping. What do we make, and what do we spend? Since we are going to have to can a lot of the staff to make these cuts maybe it is best to go back to the old “first come first serve” system in some places. Places were like that years ago and I think the use rates were even higher than they are now. Now you have to book campsites way in advance and many just sit empty because folks couldn’t make it up for this reason or that.
One thing true about Bret’s comment is that there is not a fair system currently. You have to pay for some things and yet not others. I see no reason why a small motor boater have to fork over some fat registration fee when the group of 25 paddlers gets a free ride down the river.
Once these cuts are enacted things are going to change. For example if you want a trail cleared you may have to clear it yourself. If a road is blocked you better be ready to unblock it yourself. The days when we used to carry a chainsaw in our truck to make sure we could get through are coming back. It may be a good change.
Brian,
The deficit will be larger if the hike expires than if it doesn’t. But the projected deficit numbers assume that the hike expires. So allowing the hike to expire doesn’t make the deficit any higher than it would be under existing law. You can’t double count the cost of the expiring tax hike.
Cuomo did mention consolidation of government agencies. Getting rid of some of them would obviously help too. A constitutional amendment to eliminate the towns would save a lot (not the state, but the property tax payers).
Paul, I make that suggestion with the knowledge that the very idea of having to buy a license to use public lands is fundamentally wrong. But then, so is my having to buy a fishing license, hunting license or trapping license to use my own land, land I pay over $6K a year to own. Half the reason I make the suggestion is simply to illustrate the issue.
Bret, I hear where you are coming from and I totally agree. Personally I have never had an issue with paying for a hunting or fishing license it just seems like user fees generally have gotten totally out of control. A tax is a tax no matter the name. I don’t have a problem paying a fair share.
NYS simply can’t afford to manage all the land it has foolish purchased over the years so now they are stuck. Like I said in another blog, if they can sell camp Gabriels or Top Ridge or other Adirondack real estate than they can sell larger parcels as well. If you don’t pay your 6K next year I bet you don’t get to keep your land, the same should hold true of NYS. We need some big changes.
YEAH…WELCOME TO WONDERLAND: THOUGH, WITHOUT THE HOOKA SMOKING CATAPILLAR!!! LOL
SERIOUSLY I’M 40yrs old AND SICK AND TIRED OF USING DRUG DEALERS TO OBTAIN WEED….
WE OWN two PROPERTIES that = about 20k in Taxes, AND SPEND ROUGHLY 5K YEARLY ON WEED…
IF WE RELOCATE TO A MORE LIBERAL STATE THAT WOULD = A CONSIDERABLE LOSS OF REVENUE FOR NYS…
Not hard to imagine, people moving out of state to circumvent the old fashioned redicilous marijuana laws here in NY. Now X’s that by 100 and WOW that is a lot of money Mr. Cuomo!!!
MJ is here to stay, stop taking BRIBES from the Cartels and Legalize it already!!!! Enough is Enough…