Other people’s money State funds should not be given out just on the whim of legislators BY KATHRYN MCCARY For The Sunday Gazette
Would you like to give $50,000 to the charity of your choice? Sure you would; who wouldn’t? But you won’t do it, because you don’t have $50,000 sitting idle. The money you have in savings is earmarked for you and your family: to buy or maintain your home, pay college tuition, take care of you and your spouse in retirement. Well, what if you could spare it? Better yet, what if you could write a check on someone else’s account, but you would get all the kudos? Wouldn’t that be neat? The charity would be appreciative. They’d send you thank you letters, give you a plaque, invite you to social events. Your picture might be in the paper! Your name definitely would appear in the charity’s newsletter. Folks associated with the charity would have your name in mind, and might patronize your business rather than one of your competitors. If you were a politician, they’d probably vote for you — maybe not all of them, but more than would have if you hadn’t given the charity that big gift. Which is the problem with what the New York State Legislature refers to discreetly as "member items." Money raised through state taxes is given to good causes around the state at the direction of an individual elected member of the government — and the politician, not the state, gets the credit and the votes. Member items, member grants, community project grants, discretionary funds; legislators don’t seem to have a fixed name for them, which in itself is thought-provoking. Regardless of what they are called, they are taxpayer-supported election campaign funds, big juicy cuts dipped right out of the pork barrel. SACRED COW They are also something of a sacred cow. No one wants to attack the member item process for fear of appearing to attack the recipients who are, on the whole, disarmingly deserving. Among them are hospitals, schools, libraries, senior centers, scouts and youth clubs, volunteer fire departments, police departments, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) chapters, legal services organizations, historic preservation groups, music and arts organizations, hospices and at least one provider of very nearly every known variety of charitable services. Each of us might quarrel with the gift of public money to some of these causes, but all of us would likely agree that on the whole they merit community support. Nor is it easy to fault the recipients for requesting these grants, and accepting them with gratitude. Anyone who ever tried raising money to sustain a volunteer or charitable effort knows it is an endless, and thankless, task. Not-for-profits must beg, coax, cajole, plead and whine to come up with adequate funding; they constantly juggle budgets, pinch pennies and restructure programs to get by on what they can get. Most of them have gone through periods when they would have considered taking money from the devil himself, let alone the state Legislature. The money is out there, on offer. Why shouldn’t they get some of it? And the total sum involved is so small. Only $200 million, less than two-tenths of 1 percent of the total budget. Just a token, really. Surely we don’t begrudge the distribution of that pittance to projects that help so many of us, and do such good for our communities? The Legislature banks on our feeling that way about the member items: just to make sure, the Legislature discourages scrutiny by burying all information about them. The Senate and Assembly each has the well-organized, professionally designed Web site we would expect in this electronic age. You can watch either house, live, on your computer screen; you can look up the rules governing their deliberations; you can view an individual Web page for any legislator; your kids can visit a specially-designed area on each Web site to learn all kinds of neat stuff about the political process in this state. HIDDEN INFORMATION But you can’t find out how much of your money any individual legislator has given away, or is allowed to give away. You can’t even fi nd out — unless you are patient, persistent, creative and prepared to spend some days on the project — just who is getting these funds and what they are using them for. In April, the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee boasted that, by agreement, future member items would be disclosed publicly prior to budget approval and that the 2006 items would be fully disclosed by May 15; they apparently were not referring to May 15, 2006. The Community Projects funded by Gov. Pataki are listed on his Web site, a step in the right direction. We are told which 18 organizations are splitting the six and three-quarter million dollars he has doled out — but not always what use they will make of the money. For example, the Irish Arts Center is receiving $500,000 "to assist . . . with costs associated with ongoing programmatic and capital needs," a pretty safe description of how any organization uses any of its funds; for half a million, you would think they could be a little more detailed. Why this organization, for those uses, rather than some other organization, for a different use? However worthy the cause, state money should be distributed based on something more than the whim of the incumbent vote-seeker. Instead of promising greater future disclosure concerning the process, our elected officials should be pledging to close the pork barrel altogether.
‘Circus is back in town’ Confusion, frustration, drama mark Legislature’s special session BY MICHAEL GORMLEY The Associated Press
Josh Flynt had expected a quiet day Wednesday when his government class toured the Capitol. But instead of a stroll through a museum, he got a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the chaos, backdoor dealing, power plays, influence peddling and the human touch beneath the often ridiculed monolith called the New York State Legislature. “I’ve heard about lobbyists on the news, but I’d never seen what goes on,” said the 17-yearold Flynt, of Ballston Spa, amid the bustle of Wednesday’s special legislative session. “It’s interesting.” That’s not often an adjective used by the few who see a session of the Legislature up close. “The circus is back in town,” said one veteran government staffer, deadpanning a line frequently heard around here. There is actually little that’s special about these December sessions. It has long been routine to reconvene briefly during the holidays, after the regular legislative calendar ends in June. Capitol lore has it that the sessions began as a way for lawmakers to collect a per-diem payment from the state for dropping off Christmas presents to their Albany mistresses. That per diem is now $143 for each day in session. So the tab for the special session that resulted in no major deal began at more than $60,000 for two days to lawmakers, before their catered lunches, snacks, dinners, parties, utilities and other costs are tossed in over two days. For example, Tuesday’s night’s series of closed-door meetings by both parties and both chambers included a fruit basket (barely touched) and cheese and crackers (decimated) in the Assembly Democrats’ lounge. An attendant provided coffee and soft drinks.
The Senate prefers catered lunches, hot and cold, in their lounge just outside the chamber. These meals and the hors d’oeuvres at the almost nightly fundraisers — attended by lobbyists who drop off campaign donations to lawmakers — are blamed for what legislators call their version of the “Freshman 15,” the weight gained by new college students. WORK AND PLAY Tuesday evening, the Republicans who control the Senate met for a couple hours then left for a dinner at an Albany restaurant in honor of one of the Legislature’s most popular lawmakers, Sen. Nicholas Spano of Westchester County. He lost his seat in November. Two hours later, the Democrats who control the Assembly left after their closed-door session to fete Assembly Majority Leader Paul Tokasz of Cheektowaga, who chose not to seek a ninth two-year term. Meanwhile, the majorities’ staffs, as usual, worked until midnight in cramped offices piled with bills and newspapers across State Street from the ornate Capitol chambers. And, as is common in the leader-dominated New York Legislature, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver kept in touch with their staffs, each other and Gov. George Pataki through the night. After hours of negotiations over a hodgepodge of issues including civil confinement for the most serious sex offenders, huge capital projects in New York City, more charter schools and raises for lawmakers, legislators said they weren’t even sure what Pataki wanted in exchange for supporting the first raise for lawmakers in 10 years. “They keep changing. That’s one of the problems,” said Silver of Pataki. The result of Tuesday’s negotiations? No deals. One Pataki aide called it: “Less than no progress.” TOUCH OF HUMANITY But in the darkened, stone-and-marble hallways of the Capitol’s third floor, between the chambers where public debate bats around billions of dollars, the humanity of Legislature played out. The broad brush that’s usually applied to a do-nothing Legislature fails to account for many of these individuals, some inspired by men named Kennedy or Reagan. They are dedicated to serving and frequently more frustrated than even taxpayers at the political system of partisan gridlock. There was Assemblyman John “Jack” McEneny, meeting with advocates and colleagues on pressing health care issues, while deeply grieving on the first anniversary of his wife’s death. And there was Spano — “Nick” to all — trying to keep up his trademark good humor on the last day of a job he loved for 19 years. There was Silver — “Shelly” — who interrupted the congratulations on his re-election as Assembly speaker to console, arms around his shoulders, a reporter with a hospitalized child. There was also Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, buoyant in his ski sweater amid the suits. This was the easiest thing Brodsky’s done all fall. He had dropped out of the attorney general’s race to donate a kidney to his teenage daughter, only to be rejected for the surgery. Shortly before Election Day, he had heart surgery. Now he and his daughter are fine. The usual chaos was spiced up by word Wednesday morning that a federal prosecutor would announce an indictment against a state senator over use of a pork-barrel grant. The guessing game began as lawmakers speculated which of their colleagues might be the target. Turned out that Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr. of the Bronx was charged with conspiring to steal $432,000 in pork-barrel spending to help finance his cigar business and buy Yankees tickets and jewelry. In Albany attending the session, he denied the charge. “How do you do vote for a pay raise when one of your members just got indicted?” asked one lobbyist who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the need to deal with legislators. Staking out the separate closed-door meetings were regular folks — called advocates in Albany — pushing desperately for causes that weren’t even on the negotiating table. A couple dozen older New Yorkers in blue AARP T-shirts formed a gauntlet for senators between their conference room and the elevator, each handing out fliers on reducing prescription costs. Teachers’ union members paraded in the chilly rain before a lighted Christmas tree and local TV news crews to protest a proposal to privatize three State University of New York teaching hospitals to save millions. MONEYMAKING SESSION Wet and worried, the protesters were surrounded by happier folks running cafes, hotels and coffee shops in downtown Albany, to whom the session is indeed special. The top hotels are filled with lobbyists, the lower tier of hotels and motels are filled with lawmakers and staff. Eateries double and triple their daily income when the Legislature is in town. The Crowne Plaza, a short walk from the Capitol, charged $199 for a basic room Wednesday; next Wednesday that room will cost $30 less. A $139 room at the local Holiday Inn will cost $99 next week. Inside the Capitol, the technically “extraordinary session” wasn’t so extraordinary. After two days of private meetings and private phone calls, Pataki, Bruno and Silver failed to agree on the major issues each wanted, critical to these all-or-nothing deals in a special session. “It’s boring,” said Democratic Sen. Neal Breslin of Albany during one of the many recesses Wednesday. “There are no deals, so there’s nothing you can really participate in, so you’re really stuck on the sidelines. I think this is another part of the dysfunction — it’s the legislative process, it’s not the individual legislators.”
Poor old Saddam Hussein. Pity he didn’t have enough smarts to bug off to the good old state of New York, where after being apprehended, he would have been given free meals and a warm room for the rest of his life — at our expense, of course. CHARLES LYONS Ephratah
Manufacturers see worsening climate in N.Y. New York’s manufacturing climate took a steep turn for the worse this month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Tuesday. The Fed’s General Business Conditions Index fell more than 13 points to 9.13, the lowest point in more than a year. Twenty-fi ve percent of the state’s manufacturers surveyed said conditions had deteriorated over the month, while 34 percent said conditions had improved. Other indexes including new orders, shipments, inventories and number of employees also slipped this month. Manufacturers also reported paying higher prices for raw materials. In the same report, business owners said workers compensation insurance and state taxes were the two most burdensome state regulations they faced, followed by unemployment insurance and environmental regulations.
CFOs say New York tax environment among worst in country By MARK JOHNSON, Associated Press Last updated: 5:03 p.m., Thursday, January 18, 2007
ALBANY -- New York's tax environment is one of the least fair and least predictable in the country, according to a survey of corporate fiscal officials released Thursday by CFO magazine.
The survey of 282 corporate tax officers nationwide asked how they rated states' handling of a range of tax issues, including the fairness of audit departments and the independence of their appeal processes. Respondents said aggressive state auditors and inconsistent tax regimes ranked among the biggest agonies facing companies.
California ranked worst, followed by New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Michigan.
"In most cases, you don't see states raise the sales tax and then turn around and start taxing additional things. Usually it's one or the other," Pat Pelino, a consultant with tax software and services provider Vertex, told CFO magazine. "In New Jersey, they hit it from both sides."
Many states were under pressure to close tax loopholes and collect as much revenue as possible after the economic downturn in the early part of the decade. Many are also using improvements in technology to find more taxable revenue and are pooling corporate tax information with other states to track down businesses that may have potential tax liabilities in their areas, the CFO report said.
The five states with the most fair and predictable tax environments were Nevada, Delaware, Wyoming, South Dakota and Alaska, according to the survey.
"It's the dark side of fiscal federalism," said E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a group that tracks New York state finances. "States are becoming more ingenious in how they reach into the pockets of anybody with any connection to the state at all."
McMahon, a former deputy state tax commissioner, cited a recent decision by New York's highest court as an example of how the state is being more aggressive in collecting taxes.
In 2005, the Court of Appeals ruled that telecommuters who live out of state while working by computer for New York employers must pay New York tax on their full incomes.
"This survey shows these aggressive tax strategies are not a secret," said McMahon. "The info tends to spread quickly and it hurts the state to have this kind of image. This is something Gov. (Eliot) Spitzer ought to address."
Matthew Maguire, a spokesman for the Business Council of New York State, said that while his organization is no fan of the state's high taxes, member businesses generally have had good experiences with the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
The Spitzer administration had no immediate comment on the CFO survey.
NEWS RELEASE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 152 Washington Ave. • Albany, NY 12210-12210-2289 • 518/465-7511 • http://www.ppinys.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR RELEASE: Immediate — Thursday, June 1, 2006 CONTACT: Robert Ward • 518/465-7517 Ext. 271 E-mail: bob.ward@bcnys.org
NEW CENSUS DATA SHOW NEW YORK LEADS IN STATE AND LOCAL TAXES, WITH TOTAL OVER $100 BILLIONALBANY—New York once again leads the nation in combined state and local taxes, and the total burden is now over $100 billion, the latest authoritative data from the U.S. Census Bureau show.
The data for fiscal 2004, released today by the Census Bureau, put New York’s per-capita tax burden at $5,260, 53 percent above the national average of $3,447. Connecticut’s tax burden, the second-highest in the nation, was $339 per person lower than New York's.
New York’s per capita property tax burden was the fourth highest in the nation at $1,677 in taxes levied by local governments. That was 54 percent higher than the national average of $1,086.
Rank State Per capita tax burden in 2004 Total state and local taxes in 2004 1 New York $5,260 101,426,262 2 Connecticut $4,921 17,220,114 3 New Jersey $4,555 39,558,277 4 Wyoming $4,437 2,245,265 5 Massachusetts $4,217 27,015,147 6 Maryland $4,016 22,331,127 7 Rhode Island $3,891 4,202,266 8 Hawaii $3,813 4,812,056 9 Minnesota $3,811 19,423,637 10 Maine $3,789 4,982,541 11 California $3,736 133,893,624 12 Wisconsin $3,714 20,440,988 13 Vermont $3,681 2,286,183 14 Alaska $3,610 2,375,631 15 Nebraska $3,609 6,307,884 16 Delaware $3,608 2,994,328 17 Illinois $3,555 45,190,729 18 Washington $3,452 21,424,928 19 Pennsylvania $3,447 42,717,857 20 Ohio $3,419 39,151,223 21 Nevada $3,417 7,971,598 22 Kansas $3,380 9,241,973 23 Virginia $3,342 25,002,305 24 Michigan $3,313 33,478,182 25 Colorado $3,169 14,581,562 26 New Hampshire $3,133 4,069,671 27 Florida $3,094 53,789,454 28 Iowa $3,054 9,018,748 29 Indiana $2,999 18,675,024 30 North Dakota $2,989 1,901,047 31 North Carolina $2,929 25,012,464 32 Oregon $2,917 10,474,210 33 Louisiana $2,899 13,065,430 34 Texas $2,881 64,738,772 35 Georgia $2,877 25,654,760 36 Arizona $2,871 16,481,174 37 New Mexico $2,861 5,444,158 38 Missouri $2,822 16,255,378 39 Kentucky $2,767 11,460,494 40 West Virginia $2,740 4,967,505 41 Utah $2,735 6,621,225 42 Idaho $2,728 3,805,827 43 Oklahoma $2,677 9,434,943 44 South Carolina $2,662 11,176,606 45 Montana $2,623 2,431,335 46 South Dakota $2,615 2,015,928 47 Tennessee $2,536 14,946,638 48 Arkansas $2,536 6,973,165 49 Mississippi $2,444 7,088,719 50 Alabama $2,328 10,535,366 United States avg./total $3,447 1,010,277,275 New York % above national average 53%
Another ranking of New York's business climate; expect no surprise New York remains low on Forbes' list (Albany Business Review)
Forbes gives New York fairly poor marks for business climate, though the magazine is a bit kinder than last year. Forbes' second annual ranking of the best states for business leaves New York far out of the running in 33rd place. That's marginally better than last year's 35th place performance. Virginia is first overall, just as it was last year. It's followed by Utah, North Carolina, Texas and Washington. Forbes assessed several factors that affect the ability of private businesses to succeed, including economic conditions, costs, the availability of skilled labor, state regulations, growth prospects and the quality of life. New York makes the top 20 in only two of those categories. It's 19th in quality of life, which encompasses education, health care and crime prevention, among other aspects of life. And it's 20th in regulatory environment, which measures the volume of state regulations, tax incentives and bond ratings. New York's worst category is business costs, where it ranks 48th, reflecting the cost of labor, energy and taxes.
One reasons why New York's population losses matter to business As New York Loses Residents, Potential Employees Also Leave (Jessica Wasmund/Jamestown Post-Journal)
Businesses around the area are desperate for qualified workers, but lately their potential employees have been fleeing the state at unprecedented rates. According to a news release from the Business Council of New York State, New York lost a net 225,000 residents during the year ending in July 2006, which means the state lost 12 people for every 1,000 state residents, a total that exceeds the entire population or Rochester, the third-largest city in New York. "Looking at the short-term outcome, the effects are already there," said John Slenker, state Labor Department assistant economist. "In order for an economy to grow, you need new jobs on the labor market. We've seen a tightening of the labor market, and if we don't start loosening things up, we're going to become constrained." . . . . "What we've heard is that businesses are having troubles finding employees, and an overall decrease in the population certainly can't help," said Amy Vercant, chamber public relations director. "The immigration issue has also been a hot topic lately, and agricultural industries are having an especially hard time with the setbacks. The farms can't hire the same amount of workers they usually do and the overall effect has been hard on them." According to Vercant, besides the agricultural industry and manufacturing industry has also been taking a significant hit lately. . . . . Jamestown and Chautauqua County still maintain a number of manufacturing jobs that need workers with specialized skills, and officials say a decrease in population makes it more difficult to fill the jobs. While Ms. Vercant said New York continues to be a sound place to live, there is a breaking point when it comes to the state's higher-than-average taxes. "There are many factors in terms of why people are leaving, but I think a lot has to do with the high taxes and overall economic climate," Ms. Vercant said. "People talk about the high quality of life here, how safe and wonderful the state is, but sometimes it comes down to numbers and making rational decisions."
The people back then actually WORKED! And they clearly worked harder and in much less safer conditions. There were no social benefits or hand outs! The old saying...'if ya wanna eat, ya gotta work'! Not so today. It's 'if you don't work, there is a social program to feed, clothe, house and educate you'.
I guarentee that if all of these social programs were abolished, there would be caos for a bit of time, but the human survival instinct would kick in and off to work you'd go! And while we're at it, let's get rid of this huge government, with committees for just about everything known to man out there. I gues if you don't want to live IN the system, than become a politician and just reap from it. Pathetic!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Unjust scales are everywhere and get worse when we are in the equation with our baggage and all(just look at some leaders around the world and here at home).....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
TRANSPORTATION: State diverts $750M from highway repair fund
Associated Press
ALBANY — The state has for years diverted as much as $750 million annually from a “dedicated” tax fund intended for bridge and highway maintenance and repair, using the money instead to cover unrelated budget costs, state Sen. Thomas Libous said Tuesday.
“We’re raiding the fund and that’s wrong,” the Broome County Republican said in announcing a bill with bipartisan support to end the practice. “I’ve been saying that for three years ... but now it’s a matter of public safety.”
A spokesman for Gov. Eliot Spitzer said change is on the way.
“The governor campaigned on the need for greater dedication to infrastructure,” Jeffrey Gordon said. “The governor believes transportation must be a high priority, and the decisions of how much to spend and from which sources of funding will be part of the deliberations in creating next year’s budget.”
Libous said the $3 billion fund created in 1991 now pays for dozens of budget items not related to maintaining bridges and highways, including snow and ice removal and Department of Motor Vehicle costs. Supporters of the spending said over the years they believed it was consistent with the mission of the state’s Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund.
The bill to make sure the gasoline taxes and other fees are used for bridge and highway work would be phased in over five years. Libous said the move gained urgency after the collapse of a Minnesota bridge into the Mississippi River last week. It took only seconds for the eight-lane, 1,900-foot Interstate bridge to collapse. It opened in 1967.
There’s cause for concern in New York, from the aging Brooklyn and Tappan Zee bridges to a span in Binghamton, because 60 percent of the state’s bridges were built before 1970, said Libous, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.
Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver had fought for a five-year capital plan for bridges as well as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Silver spokeswoman Sisa Moyo said.
“Both were under-funded under the previous administration, which Sen. Libous was close to,” she said.
Libous released data that shows 2,206 of the state’s 7,604 bridges were rated deficient last year, a consistent number over the last three years. He also said more than 1,000 of the bridges were built between 1910 and 1936.
Shoring up budget shortfalls by shifting funding from so-called dedicated funds isn’t new for New York governors and the Legislature. A state environmental protection fund created to buy and protect open space has been used in past years to fund day-to-day expenses.
I like the word used----DIVERTS
kind of like the lotto??
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Anyone living in New York knows (or should know) that they are subjected to the highest tax burden in the nation. That said, it’s strange that the proposal to build a multimillion-dollar convention center in Albany — with taxpayer dollars — has drawn such a muted response from the public. For several years now, the private sector in this country has been awash in billions of dollars looking for profitable investments. Hedge funds have been gobbling up corporations and funding new construction from pockets that seemed bottomless — until recently. So why haven’t private investors offered to build the center without public funding? The simple answer is that the private sector has always considered this project an unprofitable investment. Convention centers have been overbuilt all over the Eastern Seaboard, from Providence to Baltimore, and most are finding it hard to stay afloat. Hartford’s convention center started out with a $1 billion price tag, which grew to $2 billion at completion, and it is still not operating profitably. Those who claim that a $300 million convention center will put Albany on the map are either sadly delusional or looking to profi t financially at the taxpayer money trough — think construction firms and the building trades. And then there is legacy. Public officials just love to see their names carved in granite on such monoliths for posterity, to applaud no matter whose money builds it. MARV FISHMAN Latham
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