NY Governor Says State of the State is Perilous

Governor Paterson minced no words in his first State of the State address, "My fellow New Yorkers: Let me come straight to the point - the state of our state is perilous."

These are sobering times and Paterson has kept up the forceful tone of fiscal crisis since he assumed the Governorship last March. It is nice to know that he wants to take action and find solutions for New York's now projected 2009 budget deficit of $13,700,000,000 and counting. Much of the solutions for closing the gap include the now infamous group of 88 small-time revenue-generating fees and taxes that include additional taxes on soft drinks and beer and higher fees for DMV services and the like.

I have to read deeper into his speech but it does not seem like he is targeting as much of the union-based labor services that he should. He may want to bypass the "good fight" but he is the only one who can push for these changes. The State Legislators and Unions have already chimed in about changing any Union-related status-quo agenda items that would affect their world, most notably the education and civil service sectors. Maybe New Yorkers need to organize a new union of taxpayers that aren't going to take it anymore.

Paterson does propose a cap on property taxes but the taxes are already too high; among the highest in the nation. Freezing them now is not enough, the threshold of affordability has already been breached and there are other pressing issues like the need for more social services like healthcare and unemployment tapping on the taxpayer's door.

There isn't a government budget that is not suffering, most of all the federal budget. President-elect Obama states that there will be no pork in his stimulus package. Governor Paterson seems to have this same idea, "Many people assume that the only way to build that future is to spend more. I disagree. I believe we can rebuild our economy, improve our health care and education systems, and make the transition to clean energy — not by spending more, but by spending more effectively."

Across America, elected officials have been given the mandate to cut frivolous spending but media reports show that these officials all sound like morons and seem unable or willing to adhere to any meaningful bottom line. How is that possible? It is like a nation-wide Peter Principle at work. At the end of the day, individuals have to learn to live within their means; the consequences are swift otherwise. How do we get government to do so when in the back of our minds, we unwittingly hold the option open that just in case we ever become the beneficiaries of some government spoils, we would certainly want them available for us? Really, the biggest ads in the newspaper are those advertising seminars divulging how they can help us benefit from the original $700 billion dollar stimulus package. Heck yeah, I want a piece of that.