Special Note:
The following comments are by
some of the members of BALCONY on Governor David
Paterson's proposed 2009 - 2010 budget . We provide them
for informational and discussion purposes
only, as they do not yet reflect the official
positions of
BALCONY
"The meltdown was not created by working
men and women and they must not be forced to bear the
burden of New York State's budget crisis.
"Destruction of the public
workforce, schools, state services and health care would
leave our state with a terrible economy, hasten our
decline and dramatically impact the ability of small
businesses to survive.
"New York State must be
more realistic in its solutions to repair the budget
shortfalls. Just as the federal government has moved
quickly to support the financial sector with almost a
trillion dollars, so too must Washington provide the
assistance necessary for New York State and other
states." - Alan Lubin and Bruce Ventimiglia, Co-Chairmen
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Services, jobs and
communities will all be hard hit and middle income New
Yorkers will bear the brunt of the cost under Governor
David Paterson's proposed 2009-10 state budget. The
massive cuts will undermine education, health care and
localities along with further cuts in hard hit state
operations.
"The middle class will have
to pay more and get less while the wealthiest New
Yorkers slide by under the Governor's proposal," said
CSEA president Danny Donohue, "There is no sharing of
the sacrifice here - it's working people getting stuck
with the bill."
Donohue vowed that CSEA will fight the
proposal in every way available, in every part of New
York. The union has already scheduled the March for Main
Street when the Governor delivers his State of the State
message on January 7 at the state
Capitol.
CSEA also takes exception
to the Governor once again calling on the union to
reopen its state contracts even though we have
repeatedly told him no and offered numerous other money
saving suggestions.
A number of gimmicky tax
and fee increases will not adequately address the
state's deficit and will hit working New Yorkers
hardest. At the same time the proposals will likely lead
to significant loss of services at a time when New
Yorkers need them most and will also result in layoffs
and property tax increases.
"CSEA does not question the
importance of bold and serious action to address the
unprecedented fiscal challenges facing our state,"
Donohue said. "We do question Governor Paterson's
approach - it represents 'death by a thousand cuts' to
middle class New Yorkers."
"For whatever reason the
Governor seems fixated on the idea of not raising taxes
on the wealthiest New Yorkers," Donohue said. "Yet his
proposals for cuts in aid to health care, schools and
local governments will only lead to job loss and drastic
reductions in services in those areas, along with local
property tax increases that will hurt real people in
real places."
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The General Contractors
Association of New York applauds Governor Paterson's
efforts to close New York's deficit. His budget plan
reflects the State's difficult fiscal condition and
illustrates that now is the time all must come together
to help New York get back on track. With the prediction
of losing 225,000 jobs over the next two years, it is a
necessity that we be fiscally responsible and make wise
funding choices that mitigate the impact of the job loss
in the financial sector.
Investment in
transportation infrastructure sustains construction
industry employment and serves as a catalyst for
regional and local economic recovery. These difficult
economic times require maintaining and increasing the
state budget for infrastructure, not reducing it. The
budget proposal fails to address short and long term
needs of highways, bridges and transit infrastructure.
In order to keep New York working, we need to be
investing in infrastructure, not decreasing its funding.
"The need for infrastructure cannot be stressed
enough. It is the foundation of New York and is relied
upon by the entire state. Our roads, bridges, mass
transit and water and sewer infrastructure are what has
given New York its historical competitive advantage.
This present economic crisis, while severe, is not
justification for sacrificing infrastructure projects
that will ensure New York's future economic viability."
Managing Director of the GCA Denise Richardson said,
"Improvement of infrastructure is no longer an option,
it essential for New York to continue to thrive and
prosper."
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New York State United Teachers, while
recognizing that the darkening economy requires
difficult decisions, today said Gov. Paterson's proposed
state education budget would ask students to shoulder
the burdens of the state's economic crisis, resulting in
increased class sizes, cuts in academic services and
eroded access to the state's community colleges at a
time when it's most needed.
"Although we respect
the governor's efforts to craft a budget in these trying
times, this spending proposal raises deep concerns about
its impact on public education," said NYSUT President
Richard C. Iannuzzi. "The economic crisis is severe, but
we cannot - and do not - accept this devastating $2.5
billion school aid cut as inevitable." "We give the
governor credit for including new sources of revenue,
but they don't begin to go far enough to enable the
state to meet its obligations to our students," Iannuzzi
added. "Deep cuts to education unfairly burden children,
instead of asking the wealthiest to shoulder their fair
share through a more progressive income tax. These deep
cuts would represent a huge disinvestment in New York
State at a time when equity and economic recovery depend
on quality public education."
NYSUT Executive Vice
President Alan B. Lubin stressed that a proposed cut in
community college funding would "create dangerous holes
in a safety net that New Yorkers rely on more than ever
in tough economic times." Meanwhile, SUNY and CUNY have
already been burdened with cuts and "the union will
continue to be vigilant in defending the quality of and
access to our public higher education institutions," he
said. Lubin further noted that proposed cuts to teaching
hospitals would "shred a safety net that is essential
for New Yorkers."
NYSUT is stressing the need
to increase revenue by creating a more equitable income
tax that shifts more of the burden to those who can most
afford to pay. "Restructuring the state income tax would
actually reduce the tax burden for lower-income and
middle-class families while ensuring everyone pays their
fair share," Lubin said. "Change is long
overdue."
NYSUT, the state's largest union,
represents more than 600,000 classroom teachers and
other school employees; faculty and other professionals
at the state's community colleges, State University of
New York and City University of New York, and other
education and health professionals. NYSUT is affiliated
with the American Federation of Teachers, National
Education Association and AFL-CIO.
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"We agree with the governor
that our economy is shrinking and people are suffering,
but his proposed 2009-10 budget includes destructive
cuts in state services and the state work force while
ignoring cost-cutting options that can save the state
billions," said state Public Employees Federation (PEF)
President Ken Brynien.
"We are disappointed to
learn the governor continues to rely on savings from
state-worker givebacks that amount to far less money
than the savings that can be realized by cutting the use
of high-priced consultants. Many of the proposals,
particularly regarding benefits, do nothing to address
the fiscal crisis, but appear to be decisions based more
on ideology rather than the need to provide immediate
savings."
"Make no mistake, reopening our
contract is not an option. We will not ask our members
to give up a hard-earned 3 percent raise when spending
on consultants increased during the first 7 months of
this year by 13.5 percent. Now, more than ever, the
state needs to rely less on costly consultants and more
on state workers who can do the work for less, even when
you take into consideration the cost of
benefits.
"The governor's proposal would have a
disproportionate impact on some of the neediest
residents. Cutting 450 beds from the state Office of
Mental Health would poke a hole in the safety net for
the mentally ill. His budget would abandon many of our
troubled youths by eliminating needed services with the
closure of state Office of Children and Family
Services facilities. And those closures would be
realized before the governor's own task force on the
future direction of the juvenile justice system even has
a chance to make recommendations.
"The governor's
attempt to streamline and improve the delivery of
economic development services is a good idea, but goes
in the wrong direction. If there is a merger, it should
be the Empire State Development Corporation
(ESDC) and the New York State Foundation of Science,
Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR)
that merge into
the state's Department of Economic Development. This
would ensure that New York has a transparent economic
development program run by professionals selected
through the merit system, not run by an unaccountable
shadow agency staffed with political appointees making
much more money than civil servants.
"We believe
there are better, less damaging ways to address the
state's budget deficit and we will take the governor up
on his stated willingness to accept advice and
adjustments to his proposal. Therefore, we will continue
to offer better options to close the budget gap,
including increasing the income tax on the wealthiest
New Yorkers, relying on the rainy day fund and reducing
the use of costly consultants."
PEF is the
state's second-largest state-employee union,
representing 59,000 professional, scientific and
technical employees.
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The allocation of $2
million in the 2008-09 state budget for nursing
education at State University of New York (SUNY)
institutions has borne fruit. Because of this funding,
about 230 additional students were able to enter SUNY
nursing programs this year.
Unfortunately, the
Executive Budget released today will cut that funding by
15%.
"Support for nursing
education is crucial in bringing more registered nurses
into the workforce," said Tina Gerardi, RN, chief
executive officer of the New York State Nurses
Association. "It is essential that funding be continued
and expanded. Meeting the increasing demand for nurses
continues to be a challenge and any reduction in funding
for nursing education puts the health and safety of
every New Yorker at risk."
A report released in
November by the Center for Health Workforce Studies
found that current supply of registered nurses in New
York State is below national ratios. The number of RNs
working in the state is projected to increase by only 6%
in the decade between 2005 and 2015. An 8% increase will
be necessary just to keep staffing levels where they are
now.
"Patient care also is
threatened by the proposed $3.5 billion in cuts to
hospitals and nursing homes, which will make it even
more difficult for facilities to hire and retain
nurses," Gerardi said. "The Nurses Association will be
joining other unions at the State Capitol on Jan. 7,
2009, to urge the legislature to maintain our healthcare
system."
The New York State Nurses Association is the
voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than
36,000 members, it is the state's largest union and
professional association for registered nurses. It
supports nurses and nursing practice through education,
research, legislative advocacy, and collective
bargaining.
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Autism United has pledged to
mobilize its forces to resist budgetary cuts in the
areas of special education and autism services, and has
already sponsored a statewide call-in to let legislators
hear and feel the concern of the autism
community.
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The state's plan should use all available
resources-certainly including funds set aside precisely
to meet unplanned end-of-year deficits. In proposing
actions to close this year's $1.7 billion deficit, the
governor unaccountably ignores balances available in the
Tax Stabilization Reserve Fund. This reserve fund is
specifically designated for unplanned end-of-year
deficits. It cannot be used to cover already anticipated
deficits. The Tax Stabilization Reserve Fund should be
an important component of the plan to close this year's
deficit.
The governor's proposal hurts low- and
moderate-income New Yorkers while requiring little from
wealthy New Yorkers. Cuts in state programs
disproportionately affect New York's working and poor
families, who have not prospered in recent years and who
will suffer greatly in this recession.
"Shared
sacrifice" should mean that all New Yorkers contribute
to help solve this problem. The budget should not be
balanced on the backs of low- and moderate-income
people.
The governor's proposal would cause
needless harm to the state economy. It relies heavily on
cuts to essential programs and services. Taking away a
dollar in government spending on transfer payments or
vital community services has a far more contractionary
impact on the economy than does taking a dollar from a
high-income family. During a recession, the least
damaging kind of budget balancing action is an increase
in the tax on the portion of family income over a
relatively high level.
Dozens of economists from all over
New York State have written to the governor to say,
Steep state budget cuts will exacerbate the economic
downturn and harm vulnerable low- and moderate-income
New Yorkers. Constrained by a balanced budget
imperative, states face only difficult choices in
balancing their budgets during recessions. Economic
theory and historical experience gives a clear and
unambiguous answer: it is economically preferable to
raise taxes on those with high incomes than to cut state
expenditures. Full text of the letter is available at
www.fiscalpolicy.org/FPI_Release_EconomistsOnFiscalPolicy_December2008.pdf.
The governor's proposed budget also
relies on increases in consumption taxes and fees. While
such revenue increases may do less damage to the economy
than some expenditure reductions, they are clearly more
harmful than a progressive increase in the income
tax.
The lessons from 2003
show that New York can successfully close large budget
gaps-without disproportionately hurting low and
middle-income families, or causing undue harm to the
economy. The last time New York dealt with budget gaps
of this magnitude was after 9/11. At that time, in
addition to spending cuts, the legislature placed a
temporary income tax surcharge on high-income filers.
Employment in the state grew each year that the
surcharge was in place, and the number of high-income
returns grew steadily from about 245,000 in 2002 to an
estimated 420,000 in 2007. Moreover, a recent Princeton
study concluded that no net out-migration of the rich
resulted from New Jersey raising income taxes on
households with incomes over $500,000. The governor's
concern that the wealthy will choose to leave New York
is overblown.
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To
grow New York's economy we must invest in New York's
working families. A healthy state economy requires
well-educated New Yorkers, safe communities, affordable
health care, affordable housing and a sound
transportation infrastructure.
The
Governor's recently revised budget deficit projections
($1.5 billion in SFY08-09 and $12.5 billion in SFY
09-10) will require the Governor and Legislature to make
some hard choices. New York State should not rush
headlong into an attempt to address both this year's and
next year's deficits simply by slashing billions of
dollars in public services for working and poor
families. Too many of these families are already
struggling with layoffs, foreclosures, the loss of
health care and other hardships. Rather, we urge
you to address the current budget gap by using existing
resources and then take the time to address the looming
fiscal crisis in a comprehensive and considered fashion
early next year. Together we should explore every
revenue option, including ones that can help close the
current mid-year budget
gap.
