The State of New York is Poor
[Guest post by DRJ]
Happy New Year, New York State. Come the end of December, you may be broke:
“If Gov. David Paterson and state legislators continue to do nothing about the way they spend money, the state’s general bank account will be $1 billion short at the end of December, according to state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the man who writes the checks.
That means the state will not be able to pay $2.5 billion to cities, towns and villages for property taxes residents have not paid because of the state’s STAR exemption.
It means the state will not be able to make a $1.6 billion payment to schools.
And it means the state could miss five weekly payments of about $400 million each to hospitals and other providers who give services to Medicaid patients.
“If anybody thinks the numbers are going to take care of themselves, they’re wrong,” DiNapoli said.”
New York has already used $5 billion from its cash reserves and reportedly there’s no more funds to raid. Meanwhile, Gov. David Paterson says the prospect of a budget deal looks bleak:
“Gov. David Paterson, who had sought legislative action on a $3.2 billion deficit for weeks, now says he doesn’t expect any action on Tuesday, the latest target date.
The Democrat also tells The Associated Press that he will continue to compel the Legislature back to Albany until it approves spending cuts and any new revenue sources or “stands up” to vote his proposal down so voters can see where each lawmaker stands. He blames a lack of action on some “irresponsible” lawmakers in both parties.”
Paterson specifically criticized Democratic leaders for “distraction politics” and the “naked political act of trying to fool people” instead of working to solve the budget problems. And there may be no help for New York in Washington, since President Obama may be reluctant to help New York since Paterson publicly criticized the Administration’s decision to try the 9/11 terrorists in New York.
Maybe this has something to do with Hillary Clinton’s decision not to run for Governor.
— DRJ
Well, as a Californian it is good to know that our state is not the only disturbingly disfunctional one. Imagine a governor embarking on an unsustainable spending course, resigning in disgrace after having been found to have broken laws, saddling the state with a wholly incompetent successor whose only qualification appears to have been that he marked both the minority and the disabled box on the Democrat diversity checklist, and yet that same tool is now considered to have the potential to return to office by a vote of the people. Only in New York.
JVW (d32e06) — 11/16/2009 @ 10:36 pmSimple solution: Raise taxes. Or is that why people are moving out of the state?
John Hitchcock (3fd153) — 11/16/2009 @ 10:36 pmIt’s a race to the bottom between NY, MI, & CA to see which will implode first.
AD - RtR/OS! (785778) — 11/16/2009 @ 11:10 pmJust remember, virtually every way in which the loons in Congress wish to impose the government into your lives has already been tried by the above states and found wanting by those living there, and particularly by those who have abandoned their native states to move to somewhere one can live a life with minimal taxation, regulation, irritation.
But, when Congress follows their lead, there will be no place to move to.
Notice what Patterson has not proposed: cutting state employee salaries and benefits and reducing unneeded state personnel.
cubanbob (409ac2) — 11/17/2009 @ 12:08 amAs a NYS resident, I am not surprised. The “budget” is decided, in secret, by the Governor, State Senate Leader, and State Assembly Leader, Democrats all. Their puppets, er, legislators and senators, vote on what had been decided by the “Three Men in a Room(tm)”.
It is so bad, there was a plan to require motorists to obtain new “retro design” license plates, that came with an additional $25 surcharge, and if you want to keep your old tag number, well, that’s an additional $20. Word came out yesterday that the constituent pushback is causing them to announce the plan is dead, but it has to be voted on. Of course, the vote will repeal the stupid law, but it will be done without debate.
We also have the Empire State Games, an athletic competition for state residents. A huge stink was raised when they wanted to reduce funding. No program ever gets eliminated.
This is also a state that budgeted an increase in spending and taxes when they took over in 2008.
Dr. K (eca563) — 11/17/2009 @ 5:08 amThe right to vote should be terminated for all individuals receiving a Government check.
Govt workers
Welfare and Food Stamp recipients
Within 2 election cycles the State would pay off its debts and have a booming economy.
So long as an important minority can vote itself pay raises — it will.
HeavenSent (01a566) — 11/17/2009 @ 5:17 amArizona was in good shape until it got confused and elected Napolitano governor a few years ago. Now, they have speeding photo trucks about every 20 miles along the interstates. She actually announced the plan of balancing the budget with speeding tickets before she left town to take over man made disasters.
MIke K (2cf494) — 11/17/2009 @ 5:31 amSounds like Patterson has decided he’d actually like to be elected.
However, I don’t see New York being in really deep trouble any time soon, they merely have to look to see what California has already done for ways to avoid dealing with structural budget problems for some years to come.
Sam (24da4d) — 11/17/2009 @ 5:50 amNo, NYS is in really deep trouble. High profile people (i.e., Gollisano, Limbaugh) have left the state to avoid paying onerous income taxes. When Billionaires bail, you would think that perhaps you have some incentive to figure out why (hell, they TOLD them) and do something to entice them to stay.
I regularly read J. Buff. Dumbass Soc., otherwise known as Artvoice, a local Buffalo “alternative reality” “newspaper” that is worried about the problems with the stock market because those greedy leeches won’t be able to pay their fair share of income taxes necessary to keep feeding the beast that has become NYS government.
I get J. Buff. Dumbass Soc. (the Jorunal) for their insightful “News of the Weird”, the ironically named “Free Will Astrology”, and damn those local sodomy advocates know a thing or two about fine dining, art, and theater (who knew?).
If I avoided this font of knowledge, I would not have known that the evil BushChimpCheeneyHitler is still to blame for the failures of the Obama administration (at least according to the hippie Journalism Professors that write for that rag).
Who knew that hippies were all about other people’s Benjamins?
Dr. K (eca563) — 11/17/2009 @ 6:21 amW/ public employee unions, I would think that would be extremely difficult if it’s even possible.
Those two are really more like the Emperor Nortans of NY: crackpots that are tolerated. I doubt anyone is reading anything into their departures.
Between civil servants voting (D) and military voting (R), it could be a wash.
jpe (08c1dd) — 11/17/2009 @ 6:45 amIt doesn’t take tea leaves to read where we’re headed. Deficit spending can work as a short-term solution for some problems. It is not a long-term solution – yet it has been adopted by many states. The Federal Government has been beholden to it for decades. States have been handed part of the burden left by the Feds. The house of cards won’t stand much longer.
Corwin (ea9428) — 11/17/2009 @ 7:36 amIt’s a race to the bottom between NY, MI, & CA to see which will implode first.
I think IL is running a close second to the frontrunners at this point – give them a few more quarters like the last ones, and they’ll give them a run for the money.
Dmac (a964d5) — 11/17/2009 @ 7:36 amBetween civil servants voting (D) and military voting (R), it could be a wash
Except, all of those state-level “civil servants” manage to erect an amazing level of barriers that make it exceedingly difficult for the votes of those soldiers/sailors/airmen/marines to be counted.
AD - RtR/OS! (138fbd) — 11/17/2009 @ 8:35 amMilitary personnel should get 1 additional vote in Federal elections for each year of overseas service.
Corwin (ea9428) — 11/17/2009 @ 8:53 amAny bureaucrat who impedes voting by the military, particularly through the absentee-ballot process, should be transfered to an AID office in Khandahar, etc – or any of those offices that the vaunted Foreign-Service people refuse to serve in.
AD - RtR/OS! (138fbd) — 11/17/2009 @ 9:11 amI’ll match Illinois with any other state in the race to the bottom. We are deeply in debt. The state can’t meet its obligations and is anywhere from 90 to 120 days behind on its bills. Health care providers are refusing to accept some patients with state benefits. And what does out governor do? HE BORROWS MORE MONEY! Now that’s a clever way to get out of our financial mess.
Rochf (ae9c58) — 11/17/2009 @ 10:56 amOh, and he thinks that housing the GITMO detainees is going to be a cottage industry.
Rochf (ae9c58) — 11/17/2009 @ 10:57 amCA, MI, NY, maybe IL – just watch as our federal tax dollars start flowing to the Democrats in those states.
Because it would be unthinkable for a huge, bloated-with-public-employees, overbudget, inefficient, parasite-infested Blue Entity to fail.
Not so much because the ObamaGroup cares about the Blue Entities themselves, of course. It’s just that most of the parasites are on the Obamas’ and the Pelosi’s Christmas card lists, and nobody likes to be tense around the holidays.
bobby b (4baf73) — 11/17/2009 @ 12:26 pm“…HE BORROWS MORE MONEY…”
But, but, everyone knows that Borrow & Spend is the route to Prosperity!
AD - RtR/OS! (138fbd) — 11/17/2009 @ 12:31 pmIs anyone getting the feeling that one day very soon this whole house of economic cards is going to collapse?
Or am I listening to Beck too much?
Patricia (b05e7f) — 11/17/2009 @ 8:01 pm