MTA Chief Jay Walder

As the state cuts the budget for every state agency (except the legislature, of course), the fiscally irresponsible MTA will have $140 million less to waste next year.

The agency got its budget slashed by $140 million under the state deficit reduction plan in the legislature, $30 million more than they had expected. Despite the cuts, MTA head Jay Walder has said that he wont raise fares this year and wait until 2011 when the fare is scheduled to go up by another 7.5 percent.

Instead, the MTA is expected to cut ...continue reading]]>

MTA Chief Jay Walder

As the state cuts the budget for every state agency (except the legislature, of course), the fiscally irresponsible MTA will have $140 million less to waste next year.

The agency got its budget slashed by $140 million under the state deficit reduction plan in the legislature, $30 million more than they had expected. Despite the cuts, MTA head Jay Walder has said that he wont raise fares this year and wait until 2011 when the fare is scheduled to go up by another 7.5 percent.

Instead, the MTA is expected to cut services and continuing to make New Yorkers pay much more for much less. Although Walder has yet to say how he expects to make up for the cuts, he may consider making full-time workers work more than four hours a day.

Walder told the press “We have a responsibility now to be able to try to show how we can tighten our belt and how we can do things more efficiently and productively.” Those are very strong words from a man heading up an agency known best for their money mismanagement, poorly planned projects, and the stranglehold that the MTA workers union has on the agency that prevents the MTA from even attempting to do anything drastic.

At the very least, New Yorkers have to deal with service cuts this coming year and see their fares go up yet again in 2011 when the state legislature has scheduled another hike (and then another one in 2013).

David Paterson

The state legislature has dragged its feet on budget cuts for more than a month and a half, despite the fact that New York is facing a complete economic collapse. Earlier this week, Governor David Paterson took matters into his own hands, going ahead with a plan that would allow him to make $1.6 billion in budget cuts and absorb any fallout by himself.

Seeing that Albany officials were much more worried about their jobs than fiscal responsibility, Paterson began to push for a plan that some have deemed truly courageous while others labeled as political ...continue reading]]>

David Paterson

The state legislature has dragged its feet on budget cuts for more than a month and a half, despite the fact that New York is facing a complete economic collapse. Earlier this week, Governor David Paterson took matters into his own hands, going ahead with a plan that would allow him to make $1.6 billion in budget cuts and absorb any fallout by himself.

Seeing that Albany officials were much more worried about their jobs than fiscal responsibility, Paterson began to push for a plan that some have deemed truly courageous while others labeled as political suicide for a governor whose approval is already on life support.

Paterson announced that he would be moving forward with budget cuts on his own when he slammed the legislature saying, “I first presented my Deficit Reduction Plan on October 15, and since that time the Legislature has refused to take necessary action to maintain our State’s fiscal stability. As I said directly to New Yorkers last week, if legislators won’t face up to their responsibility and join me in making the tough decisions – I’ll do it myself. I will continue to fight every single day to keep New York State afloat in the midst of this historic economic crisis – with or without the help of the Legislature.”

The Times Union points out that December is the time that the state has to pay out its biggest sums, particularly to New York public schools.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg

While New York Governor David Paterson tries to convince the state legislature to cut $3.2 billion from the state budget, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg wants to cut an additional $1.7 billion from the city budget.

Mayor Mike has said that he wants to cut $500 million from this years budget and $1.2 from next year’s.

His plan would involve cutting 1.5% of the education budget, 2% from the “uniformed services” (i.e. cops, firefighters), and 4% from everything else this year.

Next year, the education system would have its budget cut by ...continue reading]]>

Mayor Mike Bloomberg

While New York Governor David Paterson tries to convince the state legislature to cut $3.2 billion from the state budget, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg wants to cut an additional $1.7 billion from the city budget.

Mayor Mike has said that he wants to cut $500 million from this years budget and $1.2 from next year’s.

His plan would involve cutting 1.5% of the education budget, 2% from the “uniformed services” (i.e. cops, firefighters), and 4% from everything else this year.

Next year, the education system would have its budget cut by an additional 4%, as would uniformed services and an 8% cut across the board for all other agencies.

Bloomberg has asked agency leaders to have new budget proposals submitted by the beginning of December.

The news comes right after Bloomberg’s re-election and is obviously something that he was holding off on announcing until he was sure he would still be mayor next year.

These budget cuts are similar to the ones that Bloomberg wanted earlier this year before Congress passed the Obama Stimulus bill which helped New York City save around 20,000 public sector jobs.

In total, the education budget is expected to be decimated if both Bloomberg and Paterson get the budget cuts that they are pushing for. Paterson is seeking to cut the state education budget by around half a billion dollars.

State Senator Carl Krueger

Despite New York State’s growing $3 billion deficit, state senate leaders did not respond to Governor David Paterson’s speech to a joint session of the legislature as he would have liked.

As New York faces an economic collapse similar to the one in California, state legislators are doing what they have always done, avoiding any unpopular yet necessary actions that could threaten their jobs, while the Governor avoids pushing too much and is all too willing to compromise.

New Yorkers have come to expect the state legislature to avoid any unpopular actions but ...continue reading]]>

State Senator Carl Krueger

Despite New York State’s growing $3 billion deficit, state senate leaders did not respond to Governor David Paterson’s speech to a joint session of the legislature as he would have liked.

As New York faces an economic collapse similar to the one in California, state legislators are doing what they have always done, avoiding any unpopular yet necessary actions that could threaten their jobs, while the Governor avoids pushing too much and is all too willing to compromise.

New Yorkers have come to expect the state legislature to avoid any unpopular actions but many are starting to worry that this inaction will result in a California-like financial mess.

The biggest problem that Senate Democrats see with the $3.2 billion in budget cuts is that around $1 billion of that will come out of the education and hospital budget. Senators like Carl Krueger have responded with alternatives to the plan but the one-time fixes that he has proposed will only lead the state into more debt.

Legislators are expected to continue to debate the issue on Monday but few are optimistic about the tough but necessary cuts being made. The New York Times has reported that David Paterson has already shown signs of backing down.

Carl Krueger, who also serves as the Chairman of the Finance Committee in the state senate, will likely win this battle. A win for him would simply mean that New York will continue to have financial problems even after the current economic crisis is over.

David Paterson

While the federal economy is showing mixed signals, New York Governor David Paterson is warning New Yorkers that the state will go broke in a month if the state legislature does not cut the $3+ billion from the budget that he suggested.

Of the $3.2 billion that Paterson asked the state legislature to cut, more than $1 billion will be cut from schools and hospitals. Here in New York City, Mayor Mike Bloomberg avoided having to cut the education budget and firing thousands of teachers when he was given federal aid from the stimulus packaged.

The legislature, particularly the State Senate ...continue reading]]>

David Paterson

While the federal economy is showing mixed signals, New York Governor David Paterson is warning New Yorkers that the state will go broke in a month if the state legislature does not cut the $3+ billion from the budget that he suggested.

Of the $3.2 billion that Paterson asked the state legislature to cut, more than $1 billion will be cut from schools and hospitals. Here in New York City, Mayor Mike Bloomberg avoided having to cut the education budget and firing thousands of teachers when he was given federal aid from the stimulus packaged.

The legislature, particularly the State Senate which now has a Democratic majority, has been very resistant of the budget cuts on schools and hospitals and the possibility of having to raise taxes.

While the politicians are worried about keeping their seats, the big worry is the prospect of New York falling into the same kind of crisis as California.

California, the nation’s most populated state, has been bankrupt for quite some time and are now selling off state assets to cover some of their debt.

Many New Yorkers wonder if Paterson is really the guy for the job since they never elected him.

Paterson took over when former Governor Eliot Spitzer quit amidst a prostitution scandal. Now, many New Yorkers are saying that they might not mind having someone like Spitzer back in there because he had originally run on a very solid and popular economic platform which gave him a landslide victory back in 2006.