We Didn't Start The Fire But We Still Have to Pay

The financial situation of most of the middle class here on Long Island is always foremost on my mind. I still have the same question that I had when I started this blog, how is everyone surviving? I thought I would have some insight by now but it is still a mystery to me.

Now we add to the mix the $15,400,000,000 budget gap, attributed largely to a decline in tax revenue from Wall Street, in the New York State budget that requires serious action on the Governor's part. In response, he proposed today serious cuts in school aid and health services, layoffs of state workers, an increase in many ordinary NY State fees, new taxes on just about every bit of entertainment that exists in the state and a repeal of certain tax exemptions especially the star (property tax) rebate.

Some of the Governor's proposed solutions will be painful for all of us; we don't want to have to pay more to renew our licenses and registrations or pay more to download a song on the internet. Most importantly, any cuts in aid means that the local taxpayer has to pick up the tab. More fees and taxes is the last thing that any New Yorker wants to hear right now. However, this is where fiscal reality meets us and indeed it is very unpleasant. We may not have started the fire but we certainly didn't push for fire prevention either.

Interestingly enough, the magnitude of the layoffs is very small, 521 out of some 200,000 state workers. This is an almost negligible layoff, speaking from one who has lived to tell the tale. Indeed the rollbacks on some employee benefits will meet the ire of many especially when the career veterans have already been grand-fathered into much better benefits than the new hires. As every special interest starts screaming bloody murder from the mountaintops this week, we will see what kind of backbone state legislators have when they sit down to vote on all of this.