Cuomo proposes his “most ambitious agenda”
Gov. Cuomo laid out a challenging year for New York in his State of the State speech today.
The bullet points are many and varied, from raising the minimum wage, to money for the “clean economy,” a 10-point Women’s Equality Act, “destination resort casinos”, a regional tourism competition, an Adirondack whitewater competition, a tough assault weapons ban, incentives for teachers and for schools to provide more time in the classroom. Then there was emergency preparedness, worker’s comp, fairness in the justice system, housing, climate change…
He spent a good 10 minutes on plans to turnaround what he called upstate New York’s “sad and troubling” job growth performance, which lags far behind downstate and New York City, even falling below the nation as a whole.
Lawmakers and civic leaders, not to mention state residents and taxpayers, have plenty to chew on.
We’ll start during regional news tomorrow. Brian Mann follows the Adirondack Challenge/regional marketing thread. And Julie Grant looks at the governor’s proposals for schools. And we’ll have reaction from political and community leaders.
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Great news! Three (more) casinos to be built upstate! Maybe they will provide the same benefits casinos did for Atlantic City and NJ education and property taxes. What a joke.
Larry, Although you and I seldom see eye to eye in this case we do. Any society that believes in the “magical thinking” paradigm that legalized gambling is a mothers milk panacea for economic woes is in trouble deep.
And wait a minute! Don’t I remember the same thing being said about the creaiton of the New York lottery??
Raising the minimum wage will make a bigger difference here in the cold and frozen north than anywhere else. Most of the youngsters I know, and far too many older people are working at minimum wage jobs.
That screaming fit he had was quite something. Looked like a Saturday Night Live parody. I don’t know what was worse, the lame ideas or the comedic presentation. Yeah, he’s a serious leader.
Another minimum wage hike? How many jobs will that cost?
Someone should let him know North Creek has had a Whitewater competition since the early 1960’s.
So, what are your solutions for an improved NYS?
Yeah, the minimum wage should be lowered, not raised. First, those working minimum wage jobs don’t pay taxes, so they should be punished. Second, they are working minimum wage jobs because of their work ethic – they just don’t work hard enough. Third, the economy of the USA will continue to suffer unless we make the lower- and middle-class suffer. Lastly, the answer to our economics is easy. It’s called trickle down. See, you cut the taxes of the very wealthy, sorry, I mean job creators, and good times will soon come to ye of little faith.
Where does the money for the min wage hike come from? Where does the money for Obamacare come from? Where does the money for increased taxes on business come from?
Sorry, but facts are facts and the facts are that business is already having a tough time in this economy. Add more costs to the mix and jobs will be lost. If you disagree with that fact, then isn’t the answer simply raising the min wage to $100.00 an hour? If not, why?
I’m guessing you haven’t heard…We’ve got plenty of money. With the going price for a Tomahawk Cruise missile at $1.45 million, a Predator drone at $4.5 million, and one of those nice new Abrahms tanks with all the bells and whistles at $6.5 million each, it clear to me that we have as much money as we want, to spend on whatever we choose.
Closer to home, we have folks in this very town, with full time jobs, who can’t afford to rent an apartment. Maybe Rancid has a shed out back to keep some of them in.
Larry, As I do not watch TV, other than with my Blu-ray, I did not see his performance; however, almost from the get go I have been mightily unimpressed with Cuomo Juniors’ performance as the Gov. of NY and his penchant to snuggle up in bed with the 1%ers. From new casinos, bridges, ., ., ., ., to his pièce de résistance a $50 Billion convention Center to draw the crowds to NYC with. I think you knocked another one out of the park Larry; but, it appears not many others agree.
Chris Christie’s “screaming” fits and bullying – A-OK. Afterall, he is a conservative.
Andy Cuomo’s “screaming” fits – Saturday Night Live parody. Maybe his screaming is none of our business.
Cuomo 2016!
“If you disagree with that fact, then isn’t the answer simply raising the min wage to $100.00 an hour? If not, why?”
Because it is a balancing act RC.
Small businesses rely on communities. Communities consist of residents. If a community is full of people who do not make a decent living wage, then the small businesses there will suffer.
It is not an overly complex concept. If you pay people a decent wage, they can then in turn buy things, which in turn helps businesses. Henry Ford understood this.
Michael Greer,
All these are minimum wage jobs are the consequence of having a tourist based economy in the Adirondacks. Tourism-based jobs usually don’t pay well, a fact that some of the pro-APA groups refuse to acknowledge.
“Cuomo 2016!”
For what? Comedy Central?
For the record, the minimum wage for adults in Australia has been $15.96/hour since July 1, 2012. Australia is the world’s thirteenth largest economy and has the fifth highest per capita GDP (nominal) at $66,984. The country was ranked second in the United Nations 2011 Human Development Index and first in Legatum’s 2008 Prosperity Index. In May 2012, there were 11,537,900 people employed (either full- or part-time), with an unemployment rate of 5.1 per cent. (Wikipedia, various pages)
“Sorry, but facts are facts and the facts are that business is already having a tough time in this economy. Add more costs to the mix and jobs will be lost.”
Well maybe, maybe not. Look at Costco:
* Costco’s average pay is $17 an hour
* Eighty-five percent of Costco’s workers have health insurance.
* Part-time workers are eligible for health insurance after 6 months
Oh and CEO Jim Sinegal’s salary is only $350,000, though he also received a $200,000 bonus last year. That puts him at less than 10 percent of many other chief executives, though Costco ranks 29th in revenue among all American companies.
That’s swell Walker. There are 15 Costco stores in all of NY state, all in the NYC area. That’s an average of $35K a year. That falls in line with the median income of $35K in the Bronx but far short of the median income in any of the other areas of NYC where the average median income is $56K per individual. IOW- Costco is a low paying job.
Walker,
Fact check time:
Sinegal retired in January 2012, but retained his seat on the Board of Directors, which voted recently to pay an extraordinary special dividend of $7 per share ($3 billion) in view of uncertainty about taxes and government spending. Sinegal’s net: approx. $14M. This is what business people (even those, like Sinegal himself, who supported him) think about Obama’s economic stewardship.
Australia also has a budget deficit of only $44 bill and a national debt of only $43 bill. Australia also takes a hard line on welfare and lowering costs- ” On the 5th of May 2011, Prime Minister Gillard announced a proposal to force teenage mothers back into secondary education on or before their child turns one. If the mothers refused to return to their appropriate schooling, their social security payments would be cut. The Prime Minister defends the policy by saying that those recipients are at a lifetime of disadvantage if they do not return to school by the required time.[3] The Gillard Government’s first budget has been strongly based on the changes to the welfare system. In a push to put more people in work and to lower unemployment by refining who is a worthy recipient of welfare and better targeting of family payments. This will provide savings of approximately $2 billion. Higher income earners will lose more than $5 billion in welfare benefits and concessions.”
In 2011 Aus only spent $122 million on social welfare. In 2011 a person on unemployment in Aus. received $35.00 per day. Overall Australia is a much more fiscally conservative nation than our own.
Dave, balance is what I’m talking about. Raising the min wage will mean lost jobs, cuts to hours and more part time work. Taking a balanced approach means looking at the big picture and not just coming in with a higher min wage every couple of years regardless of what the economy is doing. And lets face it, the min wage is a starting wage for unskilled workers. It’s not and was never supposed to be a “living wage”. Raising it at the same time we introduce new taxes and while the economy stinks isn’t going to help anyone but Cuomo. If it was that simple then raising it to $100.00 an hour would fix everything.
BTW- if inflation is so low, why do we need a min wage hike in the first place? Answer- inflation isn’t so low!
“This is what business people (even those, like Sinegal himself, who supported him) think about Obama’s economic stewardship.”
Nice try at spin, Larry. Truth is that its because of uncertainty over what out utterly dysfunctional Congress is going to do; investors may have to pay higher taxes on dividend income starting in January.
And then there’s this point of view:
“Raising the min wage will mean lost jobs, cuts to hours and more part time work.”
Say what you will, Australia still has a minimum wage of $15.96 per hour and an unemployment rate of 5.1 per cent.
Walker you often compare apples to oranges here when you compare the US to these other small countries. I wish it were as simple as that but it isn’t. The county I live in here in NYS has an unseasonably adjusted 5.4% unemployment rate and we have it with a lower minimum wage that AU, I don’t think there is much correlation between either. I personally would not try and make a correlation between our lower unemployment rate and our (what I consider to be) relatively low minimum wage. I don’t think you can really make the reverse correlation either.
“BTW- if inflation is so low, why do we need a min wage hike in the first place? Answer- inflation isn’t so low!”
The minimum wage fell about 29% in real terms between 1979 and 2003; inflation between 1979 and 1985 averaged 7.5%. Inflation is presently at 1.8%
“The county I live in here in NYS has an unseasonably adjusted 5.4% unemployment rate and we have it with a lower minimum wage that AU, I don’t think there is much correlation between either.”
Paul, I’m not arguing that a high minimum wage leads to low unemployment. I am offering evidence to counter the claim that a high minimum wage necessarily lead to high unemployment. And yes, I know such comparisons don’t prove anything much– there are too many differences between countries. But they do show that an economy can flourish with a high minimum wage.
‘It’s not and was never supposed to be a “living wage”.’
Really?! If you’re young or unskilled you’re not supposed to be able to live on your earnings?
When the first federal minimum-wage law in the U.S., the Fair Labor Standards Act, passed in 1938, Roosevelt said “Wages must ensure a “minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency and general well-being,” the act stipulated, “without substantially curtailing employment.” (The Minimum Wage)
Walker,
You have a point in questioning whether I was trying to “spin” the reason for Costco’s special dividend. I wasn’t. I originally wrote “Obama’s economic policy” but decided that would pin the blame entirely on him, which I don’t believe. I changed it to “Obama’s economic stewardship” to indicate that all though he has to interact with the Republicans he is still guiding the country’s policy; hence my use of the word “stewardship”. Also, Congress might not be as disfunctional as it is if many of them weren’t trying to resist Obama’s excesses.
Dear Lord Walker, you’re not that stupid! You keep scooting and twisting and doing anything you can to make your case and you keep failing. Address your Costco claims! Prove a high min wage means prosperity and no lost jobs! Find anywhere where people have been able to live on the min wage. To be able to “live” on the min wage alone the wage would have to be up over $12-14.00! That’s a good paying job in most of my area.
Like I said, if thats the answer then raise it to $100.00 and hour, for a start, and everything will be roses!