Paterson Budget Blasted From All Angles

Governor David Paterson was battered from every direction when he released his 2009 budget last week, by public officials, public education and senior advocates and the business community, and was urged by several to impose a tax on the wealthy or seek a bailout from Washington instead of cutting the schools budget.

In response, the governor admitted at one point that he hit hard in many places, but every sector of society has suffered equally.

"The education cuts are draconian, the health care cuts are prohibitive, the taxes that are being levied on New York citizens are not fair, but when you add it up, we think we delivered the pain evenly," the governor said.

The calls for taxing the wealthy may have been heard by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver who will have a major say on the final budget when it finally gets passed next April 1. At that time, the governor, the Assembly Speaker and state Senate Majority Leader will have to agree on it. By then it's expected state Senator Malcolm Smith will have been elected the first Democratic majority leader in about four decades.

Silver hinted in a statement, in which he also acknowledged the hardships that the poor economic climate forces on everyone, that a tax on the wealthy may be needed.

At one point, he stated, "We will work to ensure that the burden of addressing this crisis—both in terms of cuts and increases in taxes and fees—does not fall disproportionately onto the backs of New York's working families."

At another point, he stated, "We will demand that all New Yorkers, not just those that depend most on government services, share the sacrifice imposed by the budget."

Silver described the proposed $2.5 billion in public education budget cuts as "significant", but also said, "We will insist that this government be deliberate and thoughtful about cuts and not walk away from New York's historic obligation to the education, safety and health of our citizens."

In his comment on the governor's budget message, Smith (D- Jamaica) praised the budget as being "honest and courageous", and said he looked forward to a final spending plan that is fair and reflects the principle of shared sacrifice among all sectors.

Smith, in a talk before the Association for a Better New York, also said he would seek larger cuts to the state's workforce.

The call for a federal bailout to aid the nation's schools, which are all facing the budget ax, came from Michael Rebell, director of the Campaign for Educational Equity, an education advocacy group based at Columbia University.

In an op-ed piece in last Friday's Daily News, in which Rebell criticized Paterson's steep school budget cuts and suggested they could be avoided by "an extra tax on the wealthy", he went even further.

He said if Paterson wanted to avoid such a tax increase, he should instead urge the governors of 15 other states currently cutting school funding to join in petitioning President-elect Barack Obama "to throw a rope to the states", in effect, a bailout costing about $20 billion nationwide for next year.

"That is a lot of money, to be sure," Rebell acknowledged, "but it pales in comparison to the bailout given to Wall Street, and it would arguably be money much better spent."

Rebell, who served as co-counsel for plaintiffs in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) lawsuit that won billions of dollars for New York City schools, also made the point in his article that reducing appropriations to New York City schools below the actual amount spent this year, as Paterson's budget proposes would be unconstitutional.

He based this premise on the lawsuit won by the CFE, in which the courts found that the state's funding formula denied public school children the basic education guaranteed by the New York State Constitution.

Several years ago, the state began to comply with the court's finding by setting in place a schedule of annual budget allocations. Rebell maintained, that the state cannot now roll back these allocations, which Paterson is proposing to do.

Glen D. Palast, CFE executive director, made the same point. He said Paterson is proposing to stretch the CFE funding commitment from four to eight years, at the same time, reducing this year's committed funding by $2.5 billion.

The CFE was one of seven education advocacy groups that attacked the scaling back of education funding levels under the Paterson budget. The others were the Alliance for Quality Education, Citizen Action of New York, New York Immigration Coalition, NYC Coalition for Educational Justice, Education Voters and Advocates for Children of New York.

Together these comprise a powerful voice for increased funding for the public schools beyond what the governor's budget proposes.

These education advocates will be joined by the city-based United Federation of Teachers and the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) organization to bring heavy pressure on the Assembly and state senate to increase the education portion of the budget.

City Comptroller William Thompson, commenting on the budget, stated, "I am troubled that the package of cuts and revenue enhancements being offered to the city will result in a net regressive impact city residents. For example, the loss of $656 million in state revenue sharing aid between this year and next will force additional city budget cuts on top of the significant reductions that already are being contemplated."

State Senator Frank Padavan (R- C, Bellerose), the leading opponent of statesanctioned gambling in the state legislature, voiced strong opposition to a massive expansion of gambling-related proposed initiatives contained in Paterson's budget.

Padavan cited the governor's call for installation of lottery terminals at Belmont Park Race Track, similar to those already authorized for Aqueduct Race Track in Ozone Park.

The Eastern Queens lawmaker also criticized the governor's proposal to permanently authorize the operation of Quick Draw and the elimination of some restrictions related to Quick Draw.

"We cannot and should not head down this path," Padavan warned.

City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. (D- Astoria) focused on the proposed 137 new taxes or fees imposed on average New Yorkers that are in the Paterson budget, while at the same time increasing spending on welfare programs.

"The state should not be taxing iPods and satellite television, they should be taxing disco balls and platform shoes so we can complete our return to the '70s," Vallone said. "This slow death by taxes will hurt the economy by chasing away anyone with enough money left to move."

Also complaining about the billions of dollars in new and increased taxes proposed was the Business Council of New York State.

"Taxing everything from health insurance to soft drinks to clothing will make life much harder on employers trying to retain and create jobs, and on working New Yorkers trying to make ends meet," Kenneth Adams, Business Council president, said.