Take a look at this.
ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and legislative leaders on Tuesday announced that they had reached an agreement to raise taxes on New York state’s wealthiest residents as part of a deal to overhaul the state’s tax rates.
The leaders, seeking simultaneously to make the state’s income tax system more progressive and to boost tax collections during a down economy, announced their agreement as lawmakers began to arrive at the Capitol for an expected special session of the Legislature later this week.
The tentative agreement would not only raise taxes for the wealthy, but would also cut taxes for the middle class, by creating multiple new tax brackets and tax rates.
This is incredibly important on policy grounds--it is consistent with (depending of course on any related changes to policies regarding spending--i.e., what the overall budget looks like) a strongly progressive, balanced solution to the continuing budget problems in New York State.
It is also, however, extremely important on political grounds. Thanks to his role in passing marriage equality in New York, Cuomo has earned tremendous praise and support from those for whom that issue is a high priority (yes, I know it is a high priority for virtually all progressives, but you know what I mean).
However, due to his long-standing opposition to renewing the "millionaire's tax" (a temporary surcharge on income over $200K for individuals and $300K for families set to expire at the end of this calendar year), progressives who prioritize economic fairness (again, I know this is a priority for most progressives, but you know what I mean) and who--broadly speaking--focus on the imbalance between the 1% and the 99% had been tepid at best toward Cuomo. With this deal, it appears that Cuomo has done what he needs to do to win over these economic progressives.
I don't want to give short shrift to the policy implications of this deal, which are incredibly profound for New York. As a public school parent, I'm hopeful that this deal will mean a better budget for New York City schools than would have been the case without it. But the political implications are also incredibly important. Assuming it holds, this might well have been the day that Andrew Cuomo ensured that he will be the Democratic nominee for President....someday.
Please note: I did say might. Also, I said SOMEDAY (i.e., not in 2012). Discuss.
h/t David Mizner--who reminded me that of course this deal reflects the influence of OWS on the political process.