Believe me I get it, this is not the place for an objective look at an elected Daily Kos star that not only comes here but also picks out individual Kossacks to answer. Probably not my smartest action. Some unpleasantness if anyone can nit pick the smallest phrase and ignored if the topic is irrefutable truth but this is the truth I'm seeing and these are actions that are as harmful as any produced by Republicans.
David Paterson will not raise taxes on the rich and he has said over and over that the reason he will not is that "The rich will move away." This is one of the millions of examples that points out that this country is going nowhere until public campaign financing becomes law and what the governor is really saying is "Because the rich won't donate to my campaign."
I am a native New Yorker and David Paterson proved himself to be a very good man prior to ascending to state wide office. Ever since he took the very questionable route of giving up the possibility of becoming the first New York Democratic Senate Majority Leader in a long long time he has changed greatly and is unwilling to add needed money to a hurting state because "the rich will move away" I've got to scream bullshit and I think you should too.
Now let me start of with how sensitive an issue this is for a native New Yorker. I heard a very similar argument rage on for years here in New York. Of course the Democrats had no say in this argument. That would have called for defending the poor who are not very dependable when it comes to campaign contributions. That argument that came from Republicans and the media was "If we raise the minimum wage above $5.15 per hour all of the minimum wage jobs would be shipped out to New Jersey and Connecticut."
We now have a totally Blue State and what will the people get for our troubles? This is what you me and every Democratic activist worked for. New York is not a place for Newer Better Democrats someday. Since we have reached the promised land the time is now. So what does the Peoples Party have for the people?
I tell you what the people won't get. After a pledge from New York Democratic leaders that their party would legalize same-sex marriage if they won control of the State Senate and collecting a whole lot of money from gay rights supporters, they decided to put that one off just because the gov may lose a few votes. Hey maybe 2011 when Patterson is actually elected by the people. Or perhaps never, because the Republicans may just take the State Senate back.
I tell you another not so minor problem that everyone who votes should have with David Paterson. He endorsed mayor Bloomberg overturning a referendum that was voted for by the people on term limitations. It was voted for twice by the people and he claimed that a mayor who is not a Democrat does such a great job that in this case the voice of the people should be stifled. From Bloomberg Said to Test a Term-Limit Reversal back in August;
Asked by reporters on Friday, Gov. David A. Paterson enthusiastically endorsed it, saying the mayor had expertly handled the city's economic challenges.
"So Mayor Bloomberg, if he wants to run for mayor a third time I think it's a great idea," said Mr. Paterson, a Harlem Democrat.
Of course, if the mayor decided to run again, it would eliminate him as a potential challenger to Mr. Paterson for governor in 2010.
Well that's all over with. Bloomberg and the heavily Democratic City Council have already overturned term limits and Paterson won't have to worry about running against Bloomberg since he will buy his third term. That is not the actions of the Harlem Democrat New Yorkers could once be proud of but while it is far from acceptable, that's New York politics.
Is it true? Would millionaires really move away because they would need to pay a little more taxes? Why would they move away? I watch my community channel everyday and the one thing all rich people have in common is strong ties to the community. I hear their lawyer say "My client has strong ties to the community" at the arraignments of New York millionaires almost everyday.
Now David Patterson has decided to put faith in the words of one of New York's most infamous Republican fat cats. Because he got that idea, that millionaires will just leave New York from Donald Trump!
"Foolish," as he put it in a recent telephone interview. "I think it’s a great idea — if you are looking to force rich people to move to states like Florida," said Mr. Trump, dismissing the notion that the wealthy should be expected to shoulder the burden when times get tough.
"In times of financial distress, the rich get hurt also," Mr. Trump added.
Oh and there is Paterson's good buddy, the democracy hating former Republican Michael Bloomberg.
When you look at Paterson's budget that is just a massive slew of new excise taxes in an already excise rich state consider how unfair it is. Recently Paterson admitted that we may have to tax the rich someday but for now it is all about the working class.
According to Paterson, "The world has changed and we have to adjust to it." Those "adjustments" are being demanded, however, of only one section of society. The proposal demands that the working class pay, while leaving the wealthy relatively unscathed. The thrust of his proposals involves increases in sales taxes and state fees combined with sharp reductions in essential services. A review of these proposals makes clear how severely these actions will impact the lives of working people and the poor.
Since so many New York millionaires are in the finance industry and the budget deficit was created in part due to falling tax revenues from Wall Street, which has historically provided 20 percent of the state's annual income, why are the middle class and poor New Yorkers expected to make up the difference? But taken in the bigger perspective many of New York's millionaires played a huge role in not just New York's problems but the entire global financial crisis and our Democratic governor need to cut them some slack.
Now many would assume that Paterson is talking about really big bucks here but most are making it sound like a few hundred bucks a year. This is a slight raise in state tax, not that larger federal tax but a small portion of what New Yorkers see deducted from their checks. Only a few hundred per millionaire but according to City Councilman Charles Barron there must be many millionaires in New York because at Thursday's City council meeting he gave a figure of $6.8 billion;
Why doesn't the mayor and the speaker join with the progressive voices of the state and go to the governor and say "Governor don't hold back on taxing the rich." Say that you know you can get $6.8 billion but you want to save that for a rainy day. It's pouring already.
From a slightly more dependable source that city council hyperbole, The New York Times gives a more conservative estimate of this few hundred per millionaire as an extra $1.5 billion per year. Of course the filthy rich would feel a bit more of a pinch. From Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation salary and bonus alone he would be losing $200,000 from an extra percentage point in state taxes but he can afford it.
"The real question is what are the alternatives?" said Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody’s Economy.com. "If you want to raise revenue in difficult times, you’re almost invariably going to have to raise taxes on wealthy people because that’s where the money is."
Yes maybe Rupert Murdoch would move away and it would be a sad loss but David Paterson doesn't need to listen to the opinions of selfish New Yorkers like Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg. There is real evidence from one of the sister states that Patterson is so sure our rich will flee to and New Jersey raised taxes on half millionaires by a far greater percentage than the New York proposal.
In 2004, New Jersey increased its income tax on half-millionaires by 2.6 percentage points. To discern the effects of the new tax, we analyzed the tax records of every half-millionaire in New Jersey. These records, made available by the state Tax Division for the first time, allow us to see whether or not rich people are fleeing to other states. The results of our research are clear: New Jersey's half-millionaire tax is generating big revenue and causing little in the way of tax flight.
New Jersey has been producing homegrown half-millionaires at an impressive rate, and the new tax has not interfered. Since 2004, the number of half-millionaires has grown by 30%. Likewise, revenue from the new tax has grown from $750 million to more than $1 billion per year.
Oh please. Millionaires will scour Connecticut and New Jersey for a place to start a new life, then after picking the town they will go out endlessly with brokers until they find the right place. Once they find a place they will negotiate and then they will pay lawyers for a title search, then closing fees and paying all those moving expenses.
Of course they will never be able to sell their own New York homes because of the mass millionaire exodus that Patterson made up but that won't stop rich people from moving away over a few bucks in tax a year. And assuming that many of them got rich working in New York and will continue working here, just to save a few bucks a year, just to show us, the rich will waste much of their valuable time commuting and spend more money traveling back and forth to work that the price of that tax hike?
Yes some of New Jersey's half millionaires did move away but there is revenue and it is increasing. That's a pretty relevant fact to go on and David Patterson constantly repeating after Trump And Bloomberg that millionaires will just move away is just bullshit. Before he was governor he believed in a millionaires tax. So did;
An overwhelming 72 percent of voters, including 60 percent of Republicans, support the Assembly’s proposal to raise the personal income tax on millionaires.
But we all know that being governor isn't about preforming the will of the people. It's all about leadership or perhaps it is all about campaign contributions. So how is this Democratic leadership shaping up? Rimjob offered a list of the tax hikes proposed. Would the rich with the ability to move get out over being nickeled and dimed to death, while the middle class and poor are stuck here to foot the bill?
- No more sales tax break on clothes and shoes worth $110 or less, except during two weeks a year.
- Eliminates more than $600 million in general purpose aid over the next two years to New York City.
- A 4% "iPod tax" for "digitally delivered entertainment services."
- Hiking the cost of "personal" services - including haircuts, manicures, pedicures, massages and gym memberships - by 4 percent.
- Tax on car rentals would rise to 6 percent from 5 percent.
- Lifting the limit on how much state tax can be charged for gasoline. The state's tax was limited to 8 cents per gallon.
- A 4 percent entertainment tax on tickets to movies, concerts and sporting events. That would add nearly 50 cents to a $12 movie ticket or $1.80 to the cheapest $44.50 seat at a Knicks game.
- A 4 percent tax on cable TV and satellite services, raising a $100 bill by $4.
- 16 fee increases for owning & operating a car. The cost of a driver's license goes from $50 to $62.50, and car registrations from $44 to $55. Also, issuing new "reflectorized" license plates, that drivers would be required to get, at $25 a pop.
- Loosened restrictions on gambling would allow more retailers to sell Quick Draw tickets, expand hours at gambling facilities across the state, and authorizes video slot machines for the Belmont Park race track, which Paterson says would generate a franchise payment of at least $370 million in 2010-11.
- A 50 cent tax on cigars. The current tax is equal to 37% of the wholesale price, or 34 cents a cigar.
- Almost doubling the taxes on wine, beer and flavored malt beverages.
- More than a billion in health care spending cuts, including cuts to Nursing homes, that would shoulder $256 million of the deficit reduction plan burden, while hospitals and clinics take the largest hit this year and next totaling $590 million. The largest savings comes from an assessment on hospital inpatient revenues, saving $316.4 million next year. Other recommendations include reducing grant funding for hospital recruitment and retention; eliminating HCRA funding for subsidies and worker retraining; and reductions in unspent funding for graduate medical education by 20 percent.
- An actual cut of $700 million in state education aid in the next fiscal year, not just a reduction in projected spending growth. Increased aid for operating expenses and pre-kindergarten, which had been expected as part of a settlement in a long-running lawsuit, would be delayed by four years under the plan.
- Tuition increases at SUNY and CUNY, $620 and $600 a year respectively.
In his $4 billion in new taxes David Patterson is actually proposing a tax on health care! The New York Times listed it as a higher taxes for health insurers but they not going to reach into their own pockets. Is the price of health insurance high enough for you already. With all the pain and suffering caused by our sorry excuse for health care we actually have a Democratic governor who wants a piece of that action?
Or how about education in the budget? If I was rich and lived in a state where the The Campaign for Fiscal Equity had already sued and won a judgment over a state that showed no regard for our children's education the new cuts would surly make me flee.
On the expense side, the budget cuts will hit education hard, with an expected $698 million cut in school aid, with a range between 3 and 13 percent cuts to districts across the state. There will specific cuts to the Universal Pre-K programs and pupil transportation. Not only will state aid to SUNY and CUNY colleges be cut, but tuition will increase as well – 14 percent for SUNY and 15 percent for CUNY.
"Gov. Paterson’s proposed education budget gets a failing grade," said Geri Palast, executive director of Campaign for Fiscal Equity. "By cutting $2.5 billion from committed funding, and extending the CFE phase-in from four to eight years, he is turning back the clock on the state’s legislated obligation to keep the CFE promise. The future of our neediest students and their constitutional rights must not be subtracted from our state’s budget.
Of course increased gambling serves the public good. I remember when they shoved Lotto down our throats. That was going to fix education in our state forever. He's worried about our weight problem so he wants a soda tax. I'm so disgusted that the fact that he doesn't address any of the other issues that lead to obesity leads me to believe he just wants Coke and Pepsi to take a more active role in campaign finance.
Mr. Paterson’s plan relies most heavily on cuts — roughly $9 billion, with the largest amounts aimed at state aid to education and Medicaid. The governor will also propose rollbacks of benefits for state workers, a measure that will almost certainly lead to a standoff with powerful public-employee unions.
Is that right? A Democrat wants to rollbacks of benefits for state workers? That leads to a recommended diary from a few days back, Governor Paterson, Have You Lost Your Moral Compass?
The governor is proposing to reduce benefits for newly hired state and municipal workers, including those in New York City, by placing them in a new pension category. The New York City portion of the plan was developed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
"We've made too many promises and asked for too few sacrifices," the governor said during an address to the Legislature. "We're going to have to change our culture as we know it."
There goes that Bloomberg again and can you think of anything more Republican than trying to lower the wages of the workers? Although the Republican who would tell our police and firemen that they have made "too few sacrifices" is very rare.
This diary is not about real budget solutions but there is far better solutions that have been offered. It's about the people and how far people powered politics has gotten. This diary is about struggling families that are already having a great deal of trouble surviving compared with families that may not make as many trips to Vail this year and which of those two families have any sort of representation in the governor's mansion.
Because what we have now is a government that really doesn't need to take care of the people during these times. They just need to keep cutting services and dream up new ways of taxing the middle class. Just ask any Republican and they will explain it to you. Better yet ask David Paterson to explain it.
No matter what you look at it seems like the minority Republicans and one undefinable mayor is still running things in this state. Maybe that's good enough for you but have you noticed the numbers of Americans surrounding you that are just too disgusted to get involved? Perhaps you are willing to wait till Paterson actually gets elected for some of that Democratic talk to become Democratic action but now that I live in a state with a Democratic governor, assembly and senate I finally figured what Democrats are all about.
You know when you get as old as I am and hear excuses all your life that the Democrats won't do anything because of the upcoming election or because of some other excuse, you finally realize the New York Democrats will never do anything Democratic. But Governor David Patterson introduced a new budget that would do former governor George Pataki proud. Maybe that's why Republicans keep getting elected to the highest offices in this blue state. Voters can't seem to tell the difference.
You saw that little list by kos yesterday didn't you? The one titled Ha Ha. Well ha fucking ha. The joke is on us. We all worked so hard to get the Democrats in power and as usual the Republicans are still running things. Here's a good place to take a stand.
Next time Paterson stops by why don't you ask him a few tough questions about his state budget. After all those years of listening to Republicans say that Raising the minimum wage will make all the New York jobs disappear nobody should be forced to listen to Raising the tax on millionaires will make them disappear. At least not from a Democrat.
The really sad part is that David Paterson proved himself to be a good man and his budget is probably bothering him worse than it bothers many New Yorkers. But now that he faces a state wide election and entered the service of the rich the good man is hard to find. This and the lack of a Democratic voice will continue until we have public campaign financing.
All I can do is close with the final words of the former governor who wasn't going to let anything stop him from being a progressive governor;
Over the course of my public life, I have insisted — I believe correctly — that people take responsibility for their conduct. I can and will ask no less of myself. For this reason, I am resigning from the office of governor.