Smith: Ditch Cuomo’s Tax-And-Spend Policies and adopt The ‘Penny Plan’ To Fix Our Budget Woes

A statement by Assemblyman Doug Smith (5th District)

“It is time that common sense be introduced to the halls of our state Capitol in Albany. It is no surprise that after decades of skyrocketing taxes and crushing regulations- our state faces a $6 billion budget shortfall.

“Luckily, there is light at the end of the tunnel for New York should leaders be wise enough to follow it. My proposal, which I call ‘The Penny Plan,’ calls for the state comptroller to identify one penny in savings for every taxpayer dollar spent each year for eight consecutive years.

“Recently, the comptroller released a report stating that $800 million could be saved in our state’s Medicaid program. In addition, scrapping the proposed taxpayer funding of political campaigns would save another $100 million.

“In a state that spends more money per resident than any other in the nation, we can easily find 1% savings instead of taxing more middle-class families, small businesses and seniors out of our state. Perhaps with a new year and new decade upon us, newly-found common sense will be making an appearance in Albany as well.”