EDITORIALS
Confront the deficits
State Legislature must tackle reality of plummeting revenues, need for cuts
Updated: 11/19/08 7:12 AM
It might have been too much to hope that Tuesday’s special Legislature session or last weekend’s private meeting between Gov. David A. Paterson and Legislature leaders would produce agreement on how to balance the state’s tottering budget.
But the meetings produced nothing except bickering, and that is an outcome that should alarm any New York taxpayer who understands how deeply state legislators are controlled by public employee unions and special interests.
Legislators appear content to treat the state’s financial crisis as just another problem to ignore as upstate continues its slide into pauperhood. Instead of confronting Albany’s precipitously declining revenues as the signal to finally reduce state spending, the Legislature is dragging its feet, perhaps hoping that by running out the clock, Paterson will have to agree to raise taxes instead of cutting spending.
Western New York lawmakers, and probably others, need a reminder of what they told voters during their recent campaigns for re-election. All, in one way or another, favored budget cuts and, in most cases, resisted calls for new taxes. Only Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo, said tax increases would be required at some point, but even he favored cuts in Medicaid and efforts to merge school districts. (To review what candidates had to say about these issues, go to www.buffalonews.com on the Internet, click on Opinions, then on “An issue by issue analysis of the candidates,” then State Senate and State Assembly.) The Legislature’s special session Tuesday was supposed to deal with a $1.5 billion deficit in the current year’s budget. Failure means dealing with a record $15 billion gap now forecast for the 2009-10 budget. New York’s spending and taxes are the highest in the nation. Neither reasonably can go up any more; both should come down.
It would benefit legislators and taxpayers alike if the latter were to remind the former of what they said about this issue only last month. Herewith, some telephone numbers.
• Sen. George D. Maziarz, R-Newfane: 731-8740.
• Sen. Mary Lou Rath, R-Williamsville: 633-0331.
• Sen. William T. Stachowski, D-Buffalo: 826-3344.
• Sen. Dale Volker, R-Depew: 656-8544.
• Sen. Catharine M. Young, R-Olean: 372-4901.
• Assemblyman Daniel J. Burling, R-Warsaw: 585-786-0180.
• Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte, D-Lewiston, 282-6062.
• Assemblyman Dennis H. Gabryszak, D-Cheektowaga, 686-0080.
• Assemblyman Joseph Giglio, D-Gowanda, 373-7103.
• Assemblyman James Hayes, R-Amherst, 634-1895.
• Assemblyman Sam B. Hoyt, R-Buffalo, 885-9630.
• Assemblyman William L. Parment, D-Harmony, 664-7773.
• Assemblywoman Crystal D. Peoples, D-Buffalo, 897-9714.
• Assemblyman Jack Quinn, R-Hamburg, 826-1878.
• Assemblyman Robin Schimminger, D-Kenmore, 873-2540.
• Assemblyman Mark J. F. Schroeder, D-Buffalo, 826-0152.
Let them know what you think.
