Posted on 04/06/2005 6:14:13 PM PDT by neverdem
ALBANY, April 6 - With Gov. George E. Pataki and his closely guarded political aspirations headed off to Rome for the papal funeral, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer dropped a political bomb in Albany today, calling the budget document that state lawmakers passed last week full of holes that failed to solve the state's long-term problems in education, health care or economic development.
"Maybe we have a budget, maybe it's on time, and the ambiguity arises from the fact that I think this budget deferred many, if not most, of the difficult issues that are confronting state government," Mr. Spitzer said. "And while it is better to have a budget than not to have a budget, substance, ultimately is more important than process."
For Mr. Spitzer, the only Democrat to have announced an intention to try to unseat Governor Pataki if he seeks a fourth term next year, the comments provided a refreshing insight into his beliefs about government's most fundamental job: taxing and spending and the public's money. Though he is a national figure for his inquiries into Wall Street misdeeds - and speaks often before Congress and the microphones - the attorney general has so far been reluctant to insert himself into the consistently nasty imbroglios of New York State politics.
Indeed, it was a question about Mr. Spitzer's whereabouts, broadcast live on the radio by Frederick U. Dicker, a New York Post reporter with a knack for getting under the skin of leading politicians, that drew Mr. Spitzer out. Moments after Mr. Dicker, broadcasting his daily radio program from his office in the State Capitol, wondered where Mr. Spitzer was, Mr. Spitzer surprised him by walking in and, after a few jocular moments, let loose on the budget on the WROW-AM radio waves, which do not reach New York City.
Mr. Spitzer started congenially, saying that officials in Albany certainly deserved credit for passing a budget by the April 1 deadline for the first time in 21 years. But he quickly went on to say that the budget left many questions unanswered, and he slammed the process for being too secretive, taking issue with lawmakers who have congratulated themselves for their openness in reshaping the $105.6 billon budget plan laid out by Mr. Pataki.
In criticizing the budget document, Mr. Spitzer risks alienating fellow Democrats in the Democrat-controlled State Assembly - and those they influence, whose support he may need to count on in next year's gubernatorial race. His comments, too, were not so much a swipe at the governor, who has largely criticized the budget, but a potential blow to his fellow Democrat, Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker, who played a prime role in ushering the budget into law.
And Mr. Spitzer's tough words also raised questions about the actions of State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi, another fellow Democrat, who moved quickly last Thursday to come to the State Capitol, congratulated lawmakers on the passage of the budget document and later endorsed it.
"Even if we have overcome some of the process hurdles in terms of getting a budget passed," Mr. Spitzer said today, "we have not confronted the very difficult substantive issues: How do we pay for education? How do we control Medicaid spending? How do we invest in infrastructure? How do we create an economic foundation for growth in that massive piece of the state, which is in financial distress?"
And though a self-congratulatory air filled Albany last week, with the top legislative leaders taking credit for a series of open meetings they had held with the governor - and with rank-and file lawmakers feeling newly empowered for the bipartisan public meetings they had held to hash out every aspect of the budget - Mr. Spitzer said things in Albany still had the appearance of a charade.
"The open meetings are important, they're useful," Mr. Spitzer said. "But I think we need to go beyond meetings among five leaders, which to a certain extent continue to be scripted events."
"We need to get into a much more open discourse of conference committees and model our budget process more after what they do in Congress, where there are actually committees that parse the budget for particular departments, so there is transparency and accountability," the attorney general said. "We are completely devoid of accountability. Who actually knows how the Department of Health's budget is spent? And that is probably the single largest piece of the state budget, determining how a major sector of our economy is structured and it is the piece of the economy that business complains about the most, that individuals complain about the most and yet nobody knows how the Department of Health spends its money."
Spitzer starting his campaign for the Governor's Office, I see.
FReepmail me if you want on or off my New York ping list.
Can't stand Spitzer. He's really awful.
he will win. he's been allowed to build a reputation as a reformer, mostly filling a vacuum left by our non-functional SEC.
Spending under Pataki
| Year | NY State Budget in Billions |
| 1995 |
59.0 |
| 1996 |
63.8 |
| 1997 |
66.1 |
| 1998 |
71.9 |
| 1999 |
72.7 |
| 2000 |
76.8 |
| 2001 |
79.6 |
| 2002 |
88.6 |
| 2003 |
93.0 |
| 2004 |
99.8 |
| 2005 |
105.6 |
A'int it wonderful NY has small government Republicans controling the Governorship & Senate
I think you may be right. New York and the country will suffer.
yet nobody knows how the Department of Health spends its money."
---
No one knows how any government agency spends its money. Still, its good to hear a Dem say this.
nice chart. It's not much different at the national level.
I can't see how, Pataki is by far the most Liberal governor in the country and the NY Senate even though it is 35-26 Pubs is still one of the most liberal
TAXES
New York has the highest taxes in the country on EVERYTHING!!!!!!!
SPENDING
Under Pataki New York even though it has ~15 million fewer people it still spends more than California. In 2002 Both New York and California spent $90 Billion dollars. In 2003 with both facing hugh deficits Grey Davis at least proposed some cuts while Pataki even with NY facing a $10 Billion dollar deficit actually increased spending by $4 Billion.
And that $90 Billion number is actually way more since unlike California which has Prop. 13 Pataki can and does push massive unfunded mandates onto the counties (most notably Medicaid). Almost every county in NY has had double digit property tax increases consecutively the past couple of years.
BTW Texas with population just little above NY spent $67 Billion in 2002, And their counties do not have anywhere near the big property tax burdens like NY. Let me assure you the difference between NY and California and Texas is not due to the cost of snow removal.
HEALTH CARE
Pataki has also socialized medicine in NY more than Hillary ever dreamed. Right now 1/6 New Yorkers are on the state medicaid dole with more to come because even with a $10 Billion deficit in 2002 Pataki still planed on adding 720,000 more people onto the state doles via his Family health Plus and Healthy NY medicaid schemes. http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/fhplus/index.htm
And lets not forget New York's smoking ban is much more draconian than California's and once again at the time all 38 NY state Senate Republicans unanimously passed it and Pataki signed it.
2nd ADMENDMENT
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1095868/posts
and
GOVERNOR PATAKI SIGNS LEGISLATION TO COMBAT GUN VIOLENCE
Quote
"Governor George E. Pataki today signed into law comprehensive legislation to combat gun violence, including a provision that makes New York the first state to close the so-called gun show loophole by requiring background checks on prospective purchasers for all sales at all gun shows.
The law also requires that firearms be sold with child safety locks; imposes a State ban on assault weapons; raises the minimum age to obtain a permit to purchase a handgun to 21 years old; implements a DNA for Handguns program; establishes a gun trafficking interdiction program; and, directs a study to be conducted on "smart gun" technology."
Environment,
The same thing especially with upstate where there is the Forever Wild clause.
And even though the rest of the country rejected it, Pataki is actually going forward in implementing the Kyoto protocol on global warming.
A little more on the insanity of New York
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/970596/posts
And a Governor Spitzer WILL be a Cuomo-like disaster. Note I said WILL. There's no RINO who could defeat him.
I'm afraid so, The Liberal policies of Pataki & his 35 RINOS of course led to disaster, and instead of those Liberal policies getting the blame, Republicans will be blamed and they will take a beating in 2006.
Something tells me Spitzer will be worse than Pataki, as bad as Pataki seems. I only voted for Pataki the first time he was elected governor. Spitzer strikes me as obnoxious in the extreme. He reminds me of Schumer.
I hope this catches and takes off across the state,
we are in the middle of a tax revolt in Erie County and two groups are continuing on with it. I have had the priveledge of being at the root of the whole movement.
http://www.FreeBuffalo.org and http://www.PrimaryChallenge.org
http://www.RusThompson.com
We are challenging the incumbents at the Primary level and have 9 candidates in Erie and 5 in Niagara county.
If the toll increase is enforced on us we will be orginizing a truck convoy to Albany. We plan on having 200 trucks leave Buffalo and grow to 1000 by the time we converge on the Capitol in Albany.
They know we're coming and the first thing I will do is grab a megaphone and yell "Can you hear us now"
We are making history in WNY
Next friday the 15th we are holding a rally in downtown at the convention center, Please come if you are local..
One thing missing though, solutions.
LOL!!
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