The Governor really has lost the forest from the trees.  He has spent a great deal of time on this.  Commissioners, Directors, HR staff, managers and others, from dozens of state agencies have spent weeks discussing and planning this feeble attempt to save a drop in the bucket.

Why?

Realizing this is the end of his political career, Governor David Paterson is going on the offensive, striking down everyone who has ever wronged him, in the waning days of his career.   He feels the unions have it out for him, as they defend their people by standing behind existing contracts.

He is also aiding those who stuck by him.

Several of his staff received double-digit raises, as they were given more responsibilities after many of his staff bailed on him.  The next day, after realizing this looked bad, the raises were canceled.

NYS politicians need to make the tough decisions.  Yes, the deficit needs to be cut, but cut the significant expenditures.

The NYS budget is over $100 billion.  The furlough savings would be less than 1% of the total budget.

New Yorkers need to ride out the last few months of the Paterson Regime.  We must stay united, and hold out hope that our next governor will make common-sense reductions to the state budget and in a consistent manner.

The Governor has proposed this before, however, and the NYS Legislature refused to approve such a move – fearing the political backlash of cutting funds to their constituents.  Governor Paterson, though, has proven that he is above the groaning of his constituents, and continues to do what he believes is best.

Personally, I have not been a great supporter of the Governor, but if he follows through with this move, and cuts funding to the bloated schools and municipalities, I will need to seriously reconsider my opinion of him.  He is persistent, and honestly believes he is doing what is right.  He has many flaws though (such as trampling on the NYS constitution to appoint an illegal Lieutenant Governor), too many to earn my vote.  This act, if he follows through, will have earned my respect.

The reason I believe this cut is important is simple.  New York State should not be going in the red at the same time that local communities have enough money that they still have the luxury of “choices.”

New York City will not receive $84 million in aid.  Albany and Schenectady will not get $1.2 million each in aid.  Local governments across the state in total will not receive $1.9 billion in aid.

This is the type of cut that hopefully will make governments tighten up their budgets.  We need some consolidation of entities in order to survive these tougher financial times.  Many communities have separate City operations, Library services, school districts, water supply, etc.  This creates obvious inefficiencies, and therefore costs taxpayers more.

Hopefully Governor Paterson’s drastic 10% cut will yield the type of change necessary to bring financial stability to our state.

In December, the State is supposed to distribute billions of dollars to schools, counties, state payroll, etc., yet it will only have about 3/4 of the money it promised on hand.

NYS must begin making cuts.  It is easy, every person does this every day with their family’s budget.  The State can start with the simple things.  The non-essentials must be dramatically cut.  If this means libraries are no longer able to purchase the newest videos to loan out for free, or that State property does not have quite as many flowers planted on them, so be it.  Move on from there to tackle the larger cuts.

Since Governor Paterson is very interested in finding innovative revenue streams, I am sure we will see the $21,000 rug on eBay very soon.

Cuts must also trickle down to the municipalities as well.  City’s must begin making tough decisions.  Schools must consolidate to take advantage of economies of scale.  People need to demand less of their government.

New York State must show the Counties, Cities, Towns and Villages how it is done.  The State must model its desired behavior.  Until the State cuts its fat, the municipalities will continue to keep their fat, and will keep demanding more aid from the State and Federal government.

Starting October 31st, retailers are required to charge an extra nickel per bottle of water sold.  Bottled water is often sold in cases of 20 or 24, which could add more than a dollar to the price of water at the register.

This bill was proposed and approved for the wrong reasons – it exists  because Governor Paterson wanted the extra estimated $100 million in revenues from unclaimed deposits.

In a time when the economy is tough, why should NYS be excited about people losing out on a five cent deposit that they are entitled to?

Has Governor Paterson investigated why citizens will fail to return their water bottles?

• Is it because they are elderly or disabled, and it would be difficult for them to do so?  You would think being disabled himself, Governor Paterson would be sympathetic to this group.

• Is it because of a technicality?  For example, my nephew frequently rips the label off of his water bottles.  However, that is where the bar code is, and if it is missing, the person does not get his deposit back.

• Is it because people are too busy to make an extra trip to the store and wait in line?  Families often are running around to soccer practice or school plays, and this is just one more step the government is making them do.  That family could continue to put their empty bottles out with the recyclables, but they would lose out on their deposits.

In addition, why is New York State essentially discouraging people from drinking bottled water, the healthiest thing you can do for your body.  I can understand discouraging cigarettes, Twinkies, or carbonated beverages – but water?

The bottom line:  While NYS is celebrating their ‘victory,’ residents are missing out on $100 million a year because they are choosing to drink a healthy choice.