What can we, as residents - and local govt do to help the NY economy?

Any ideas?

First we have to vote MOST of our local politicians out. Ya know the ones that tax and spend and spend and spend!

Second, we need to vote in new locals that will cut taxes and spending and get rid of these nonsense patronage jobs (Kosiur) and these public government programs. We need to vote people in who will get rid of Gillen and the plex. We need to vote in people that will sell the County home to a private enterprise. We need to vote people in that will work for the ENTIRE county and not just the 2 blocks of State Street.

And last but not least....we need to vote people in who will actually listen to 'we the people'.

That may be a start, but don't rely on false hopes.  The likelihood is that there will be a whole new crop of tax and spend politicians to take their place, regardless of political party. Yes, the county wastes alot of money on patronage jobs etc. but if you think that will change because they are voted out you are sadly mistaken. I think the biggest problem is the ease of obtaining welfare benefits and keeping them.  Politicians, special interest groups, and "we the people" have created a society that has found it easier to take then to earn and we have allowed it.  The programs need to be reformed.  Immigration of the illegal sort is also responsible for a piece of the pie.  We are a melting pot and we understand that, but when you have the influx of illegals that we have experienced in recent years it to is bound to catch up with us.  When the county is passing on the costs of these programs to us it does not leave much money left for the local needs or wants.  County government needs to unite across the state and reform social services and immigration at the state and federal level.  They need to "get in their face".  All this nicey nice parlimentary procedure and don't hurt anyone's feelings needs to change.  Someone on the legislature wrote a letter to the Governor a few months back telling him the mandates have to stop.  I think the Leg even passed a resolution.  Big deal.  So where did that get them?  A waste of ink and a piece of paper. I'm not saying you chase after the Governor like a lunatic, but I have to believe if ALL the counties in the state united they could make a difference.  If they can't, then why bother having county government at all.  

As residents and average "joes" we can stop living above our own means.  We expect government to do this but most don't do it ourselves.  We need to realize the difference between need and want.  I need a bar of soap not 14 different aroma's of shower gel with matching moisturizer. (I am a culprit of that one though).
I had a resident come in my office last year and blame me because he couldn't afford the taxes on his house.  He is a friend of mine and I knew he worked in the financial industry.  I gave him the heel of my hand to his forehead and told him it wasn't my fault and that he should have thought of that before he built a $400k house.  Didn't he have the sense to check on taxes first?  Same thing with mortgages, and cars and even coffee at Stewarts.  One cup of coffee every day for a year is $438...that is a little over two car payments for me.  

Rene, it all goes back to accountability and responsibility for ones actions. The younger generation wants everything now and is not willing to wait until they have the money to buy the house, car, boat, and all the rest of the toys they have so they all borrow the money for them never thinking that they could lose their job, or become disabled and unable to pay their bills. The rainy day our parents and grandparents warned us about is here and we're all going to have to cut our wasteful spending and we must all insist that our government do the same at all levels.

Thats it in a nutshell......responsible spending by both government and people.

honesty and justice.....and I dont mean the court kind.......and we need to get back to basics....REAL life stuff.....
and we need to shut up the 'penthouse' types like Paris Hilton etc......this is NOT what the basic average Joe American is or should
even strive for......contentment in being Joe/Jane American and with that pioneering American spirit needs to be fed.....
Paris Hilton only pioneers her new BFF.....remember there is a next generation and they are getting 'mucked up' via these dumb-asses
and the frequent statements of "everyone does it".......

I say go with innovation/education...and future views for the next generation of middleschool/highschoolers now.......
get GE into the schools and anyother large corporate teachers.....not about corporate functioning but teaching......those folks should
be subsidizing our schools/their future workers......and no government 3rd party returns/handouts.......NO Authorities with power either

straight up......kind of like charter schools........

the populace in the school district get to vote on ALL of it.......state mandates as a spring board only, to the bigger picture.....

separation of education and state......no unions.......

I do believe that we have to stop spending and spending and spending on the 'wants' in life. We need to stop relying on the government to pick up the broken pieces of our bad choices. And there are places that I can and have cut. But there are those folks out there that truly live paycheck to paycheck. They do just buy the 'needs' and not the 'wants'. They have no place to cut when things get tough. (except the dinner table)
These are the folks who are caught in the middle of this economic disaster!

Very true Bumble, the bills are there every month and the only thing that you have left to cut is the grocery bill, kind of hard to do when there are kids involved.

Both your statements are true.  Some people do the best they can, work their butts off and still can't manage to make ends meet.

We can spend our dollars at local businesses, particularly those who manufacture the product in Schenectady County.  A few examples:

Newberry Knitting - purchase your socks, gloves, mittens, hats from this business rather than from a department or discount store.  Be advised, however, that some of the product that you will find in the factory store is not manufactured there.

http://www.newberryknitting.com/home.html

Uncle Sam's Candy - Rather than buying those boxes of Whitman's Samplers, Godiva Chocolates, Fanny Farmers, etc., buy your candy from Joe Suhrada at Uncle Sam's Candy.

http://www.unclesamscandy.com/

Purchase your pottery items from local artists rather than buying the inferior foreign products.  There are many artists, including
potters, who are located in Schenectady and surrounding counties.  I purchased some quality items at King's Creek Pottery in Gallupville (Schoharie County).  Kathy Catlin creates beautiful pieces and the prices are reasonable.  There is another pottery shop in Middleburgh Smyth/Cid Pottery Shop and Studio that needs the support of local shoppers.

http://www.kingscreekpottery.com/

http://www.smythcidpottery.com

For those interested in pottery and may want to shop for gifts, Smyd/Cid Pottery has its Grand Opening today.  I have provided
below the information that I received by email.

> Smyth/Cid Pottery Shop and Studio
> Shop Grand Opening
> Saturday and Sunday December 6th and 7th  - 12 to 6pm
> The shop will be open weekends until Christmas . All other times by
> appointment or chance.
> We will have functional and decorative pottery in a verity of glazes.
>
> Directions: From Middleburgh take Rt. 30 south to Breakabeen. Turn
> left into village. Go 1 mile, turn right on Keyserkill Rd. Shop and
> Studio is 1 mile on the right.
> 518-827-8072.

In summary, Americans need to buy products that are Made in the USA.  Though finding American products is becoming increasingly
difficult in this global economy and the prices of American products seem generally to be higher than the cheap imports, the prosperity of our nation requires that we invest in businesses at home.  

Let us each pledge to purchase at least one item this Christmas Season that is Made in the USA.  Made in Schenectady County (and surrounding counties) will support our neighbors!

I do agree with you Brad....however, the folks that are at the bottom of the feeding dont have cars and cannot get to those places.....and they are not on
'assistance'.......however, the rest of us with some $$ to spend can........forgoe the mattress for a few bucks and feed the machine........

obviously our '401k mattresses' are not working either......there is no cushion,insurance or guarantee.......

Quoted Text

Bringing success to Main Street Group of small businesses seeks pledge from shoppers to spend locally on holidays
BY SARA FOSS Gazette Reporter

    At Two Spruce Pottery on Jay Street in Schenectady, owner Nancy Niefield is distributing pledge cards that ask customers to spend at least $100 of their holiday shopping budget at locally owned, independent businesses.
    Niefield isn’t alone.
    Businesses throughout the Capital Region are distributing these cards, as part of an effort to get shoppers to shop at local businesses during the holiday season. The project is co-sponsored by Metroland, the area’s alternative weekly newspaper, and Capital District Local First, a coalition of locally owned businesses.
    The pledge cards contain a “local holiday shopping log,” where shoppers can detail which stores they shopped at and how much they spent. People who take the pledge and fill out the card are eligible for a drawing in which winners will receive gift certificates for local businesses.
NOTICEABLE IMPACT
    “While local businesses may not fill all of your holiday shopping needs, you do have many choices and opportunities to shop locally — and your spending decisions do make a difference,” the card states. “Money spent on locally owned businesses recirculates throughout the region at a much higher rate than money spent on chain retailers; for example, if all of Metroland’s 150,000-plus readers took the pledge, the net positive impact on the local economy could be as high as $5 million.”
    Niefield, who makes the pottery sold at her shop, is a member of Capital District Local First.
    “We’ve been talking this up with all of our customers,” Niefield said. “If people don’t support local businesses, then local businesses won’t be here. . . . This is the wave of the future.”
    Everything sold at Two Spruce Pottery is local and handmade. In addition to Niefield’s pottery, handmade glass beads created by Carol Markytan are sold there; Markytan’s business is called Glassy Beads. There are also locally made candles, and soap made by the children at Roots & Wisdom, a Schenectady County youth agriculture and community service program.
    Members of Capital District Local First believe that people are becoming more aware of the community benefits of shopping at local businesses.
    In November, the organization sponsored a Buy Local Bash, where people could sample local foods and buy local goods. “More and more vendors wanted to be involved,” said Karisa Centanni, education coordinator at Honest Weight Food Co-op, a member of Capital District Local First that promotes locally produced and grown foods.
    Centanni acknowledged that Honest Weight may be preaching to the choir when it talks about the importance of buying locally.
    “Our shoppers — I think they hear this stuff all the time,” Centanni said. But she believes that the recession is making people question the stability of the global economy, and that the buylocal movement has the potential to go mainstream as a result. “A lot of people are affected [by the recession],” she said. “They’re realizing that all they have is the local economy, and wondering how they support that. The local economy is not going anywhere. If anything, it’s strengthening.”
VALUABLE SUPPORT
    Susan Taylor, the events coordinator for the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, an independent bookstore in Albany, and a board member for Capital District Local First, said she hopes the pledge drive raises awareness about the buy local movement.
    “People are starting to realize that they need to put their money where their mouth is,” she said. “Very few people come here and say they’re going to go to a big chain bookstore.”
    A speaker at the Buy Local Bash pointed out that you seldom hear people blaming the country’s economic ills on local businesses, Taylor said. “These are not the people who are ruining the economy,” she said. “We’re part of your hometown, and your main street. If you want your hometown and your main street to be successful, you’ve got to shop at local businesses.”
    Money spent at local businesses recirculates in the local economy, Taylor said. “Our profits do not go to Bentonville, Ark.,” she said, referring to Wal-Mart’s hometown.
    After two years of existence, Capital District Local First has 90 members. Not all of the members are retailers. The organization also counts arts businesses, such as Spectrum 8 Theatres, a movie theater in Albany, restaurants, nonprofits and a diverse mix of professional services as members.
WIDESPREAD EFFORT
    Capital District Local First belongs to an umbrella organization, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, that supports networks of local businesses throughout the country. Many of these networks are sponsoring buy-local holiday pledge drives of their own, usually in partnership with the alternative newspaper in their area.
    The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies was organized in 2001, and now has 63 members in the United States and Canada. The buy-local movement “has taken off,” said Ann Bartz, program manager for BALLE, which is....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01900

Quoted from bumblethru

First we have to vote MOST of our local politicians out. Ya know the ones that tax and spend and spend and spend!

Second, we need to vote in new locals that will cut taxes and spending and get rid of these nonsense patronage jobs (Kosiur) and these public government programs. We need to vote people in who will get rid of Gillen and the plex. We need to vote in people that will sell the County home to a private enterprise. We need to vote people in that will work for the ENTIRE county and not just the 2 blocks of State Street.

And last but not least....we need to vote people in who will actually listen to 'we the people'.

This would be a excellent start. The best thing local politicos can do is cut spending and lower  County and local taxes. Firing Death Ray, the County Manager and eliminating the Metrograft tax would put more dollars back into your wallet.

  When a politicians comes to your door ask them if they support Metrograft-if they do slam the door. Dump Judy D next year! Listening to the people is no remedy-too many sheeple still believe the horrible Gazetto and haven't awaken from a Savage induced coma.

Wouldn't that be the County MIS-manager?