Archive for February, 2009

BIG BIZ GANGS UP ON ‘MILLIONAIRE’S TAX’ PLAN

By Tom Topousis

Finally, someone is fighting for the rich guys. A group of powerful business organizations is preparing to fight a proposed “millionaire’s tax” they say will drive affluent New Yorkers out of state. Taxpayers for an Affordable NY includes the Business Council of New York, the Real Estate Board of New York, and the Rent Stabilization Association – a trio of groups that came together once before, in the early 1990s, to fight property tax hikes. “We’ll be hurting ourselves because some of those people will move out of the state, and whatever we generate in the first round of taxes will be lost in the second round,” said Steven Spinola, head of the Real Estate Board. Spinola said 4 percent of New Yorkers in what is currently the highest tax bracket pay 54 percent of the state’s income tax. Democratic lawmakers have proposed increasing the top tax rate from 6.8 percent to as much as 10.3 percent. The taxpayers group has mailed out notices to 150,000 taxpayers, calling on them to contact their state senators to block the increase, which would boost tax rates to 8.25 percent for incomes of $250,000 to 10.3 percent for those over $1 million.

Sheldon Silver Proposes $2 Toll Plan for East River Bridges

By Glenn Blain and Pete Donohue

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Wednesday night proposed putting tolls on the East River bridges equal to the price of a subway ride, currently $2.

Silver pitched the proposal to his Assembly colleagues gathered to discuss the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s fiscal crisis.

A bailout plan drafted by former MTA Chairman Richard Ravitch recommends East River tolls matching those at MTA crossings like the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge. Drivers with E-ZPass pay $4.15 to cross that span.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky billed Silver’s proposal as progress in the bid to avoid huge fare hikes and severe service cuts the MTA says will be necessary later this year without a massive bailout.

“It was attractive to people who had problems with the other proposal, but there were a great variety of opinions,” Brodsky (D-Westchester) said of the lower-priced tolling concept. “We are in the process of building consensus. That doesn’t happen in one meeting.”

Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) didn’t reject the Silver proposal but wasn’t completely sold, either.

“Honestly, I’m still evaluating it,” Gianaris said. “This idea is certainly better than the Ravitch plan, but I remain very apprehensive about any tolls on the East River crossings.”

Tolls disproportionately affect the people of Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, Gianaris said.

Proponents dispute that argument, saying any successful bailout would include higher contributions from many others, like bus and subway riders in the form of modest fare hikes.

Faced with a $1.2 billion operating budget deficit and no money for its next capital construction program, the MTA in December adopted a “draconian” budget.

It includes hikes raising fare and toll revenues by 23% – potentially resulting in a $103 price tag for a monthly MetroCard now costing $81.

The doomsday budget also would eliminate 21 local bus routes, shut down the W and Z subway lines and close a handful of lower Manhattan subway stations during the overnight shift.

Senate Democrats also met to discuss the Ravitch plan and the plight facing more than 8million daily subway, bus and commuter train riders.

No matter what the cost, some said they wouldn’t support East River bridge tolls, making it difficult for approval. Democrats hold a 32-to-30 majority in the Senate. No Republicans have expressed support for tolls.

To Pay for Health Care, Obama Looks to Taxes on Affluent

BALCONY APPLAUDS OBAMA HEALTH PLAN: AWAITS DETAILS

“President Obama has taken a bold step in the right direction to provide health care to all Americans,” stated BALCONY, the Business and Labor Coalition of New York. “Our health care system is in crisis and the Obama administration recognizes that 48 million Americans, 2.6 million New Yorkers, can no longer go without health insurance. We await the details and look forward to working with our coalition to help solve this dire problem.”

By Jackie Calmes and Robert Pear

President Obama will propose further tax increases on the affluent to help pay for his promise to make health care more accessible and affordable, calling for stricter limits on the benefits of itemized deductions taken by the wealthiest households, administration officials said Wednesday.

PRESIDENT OBAMA FOCUS ON ECONOMIC RECOVERY

President Barack Obama addressed the nation and the congress detailing the adminstration’s plan for economic recovery, highlights energy, education, and health care initiatives.

Read the entire speech: Obama Feb. 24, 2009

Study Cites Obstacles for Poor to Renew Health Insurance

By Julie Bosman

More than a third of New York State’s recipients of Medicaid and other public health insurance programs fail to re-enroll on time, losing coverage even though they remain eligible, because of daunting paperwork and other obstacles, according to a new study.

The study by the New York State Health Foundation, a nonprofit organization that aims to improve public health through education and expanding access to high-quality care, said many people were deterred by Medicaid’s annual recertification process and that the resulting churning, in which recipients fall off the rolls and then reapply from scratch, costs the state money because it is more inefficient.