STATE LEADERS AVOID RESPONSIBLE DECISION MAKING

Governor Patterson held a press conference today to announce that, thanks to federal stimulus money, he was canceling proposed taxes on everything from soda to bowling to haircuts. Notice anything? Apparently the Governor (and the Senate and Assembly leaders who stood with him) think there are only two choices: federal aid or higher taxes. The third and best option – budget cuts – is apparently not even a consideration. Thus our Albany leadership is falling into exactly the trap many who questioned the size and scope of the Stimulus warned against. Instead of finally making the responsible decisions they have avoided for so long, our state leaders are just using the Stimulus money to delay the inevitable. Next year or the year after, the hole will be deeper and, barring a dramatic economic turnaround, the tax hikes will be even steeper.