When you pass a budget using a piecemeal process, you get a budget that is fractured, impractical and irresponsible. Throughout the process, the moving pieces blocked the view of the final plan; a plan devised in the shadows and among only a select group with no input from outsiders and one that raises taxes, increases spending and takes none of the necessary steps toward a better New York. The Majority failed to make the tough choices that were so critical in this year’s budget. Instead, they pushed this responsibility onto the businesses and the people of the Empire State.
The people will see a precipitous rise in taxes this year. This Majority’s budget adds $1.45 billion in new taxes and fees, and projects to increase further to $3 billion the following year. All of this is on top of the $8 billion in new taxes and fees that were part of last year’s budget. This increase is irresponsible and unsympathetic to the needs of New York’s hardworking taxpayers. We cannot expect the people of New York to bear the burden of the failure of New York’s fiscal policy.
These steep increases in taxes were made to counter the failure to cut spending. Instead, the decision to increase spending was made. This year’s budget increases spending by $3 billion over last year’s bloated budget, setting a dangerous precedent for years to come. We cannot and should not continue on this path. Out-of-control spending will only lead to more people leaving the state, businesses closing shop, and an unfixable fiscal fiasco.
Increased spending and taxes were not the only failures of this budget. Little effort was made in this budget to relieve the crushing pressure of property taxes. Businesses were targeted and further economic development was put at risk. Fifty percent of business tax credits have been deferred, sending a clear message to businesses that New York is not a trustworthy partner.
Opportunities were available to institute a more practical and responsible budget. Although unsolicited, my colleagues and I suggested numerous ideas to balance the budget and provide taxpayer relief without raising taxes or borrowing. We suggested consolidating state agencies, setting higher Medicaid fraud-recovery targets, reforming the state pension system, and numerous other cuts. Yet, throughout, the Majority in the Assembly acted in a way that said ‘this is our budget, we know what we’re doing’. Unfortunately, they were wrong and not only did the process fail in nearly every conceivable way, the budget fails to meet the needs of New York and New Yorkers. This budget is not a step in the right direction, but it does serve as an important lesson in problems of one-party rule and closed-door negotiations. Luckily, this is not the final budget as the Senate has yet to pass this version, so I remain hopeful that the final product will reflect the needs of New York’s taxpayers far more than the version that the Assembly Majority has devised.