Posted on 03/28/2009 5:49:11 PM PDT by abb
Western New Yorkers say they're up to their eyeballs in taxes.
Now, they're using a party to protest proposed tax increases.
It was quite a scene at the waterfront Saturday as hundreds of western New Yorkers didn't hold back criticizing what they call a floundering state government.
Western New Yorkers at Saturday's tea party tax revolt had a clear message for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Governor Paterson.
Tax activists, some in costume and others not, all had the same message. They're tired of dysfunctional government that they say only know one thing, raising taxes.
Small business is going to be stamped out by taxes in this state and the whole country.
Carl Campbell says he knows because he owns a small business in Lancaster, and he can't keep from using "the c word" to describe where he thinks things are headed.
Campbell said, "What I'd like to do is stop the heavy foot of communism before it really gets started more than it is now."
Tax activist James Ostrowski agrees, and says stopping the growing trend of socialist policies like redistributing wealth needs to start now or it will be too late.
"You've got to see where the trend lines are going and fight right now, you've gotta draw a line in the sand now when we still have freedom of speech," said Ostrowski.
And when people like Carl Campbell still have a business to run, Ostrowski says local leaders who represent the communities right here in Buffalo on Capitol Hill are ignoring their own people.
"They should be ashamed of themselves. How can you preside over the decline of your community for fifty years and not do a damn thing about it?" Asked Campbell.
ping
http://www.wvnstv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=55466
Hundreds Speak Out Against New Taxes
http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local_wlfi_lafayette_taxdayteaparty_2009328
Tax day tea party in Tippecanoe Co
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/mar/28/guest-commentary-tea-parties-are-only-beginning-na/
Guest commentary: Tea parties are only the beginning of national forum
Nicely done. Our local protest is being held April 15th.
http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/42062447.html
Taxpayers Stage Real-Life Tea Party to Protest High Taxes
http://buffalopundit.wnymedia.net/blogs/archives/8465
Rus Thompson’s Buffalo Tea Party
http://providencetaxdayteaparty.blogspot.com/2009/03/new-site-new-time.html
Providence Tax Day Tea Party
http://thenewliberty.com/?p=679
Angry mob descends on Buffalo for the Western New York Tea Party
http://thebuffalobean.com/2009/03/28/buffalo-tea-party-mad-as-hell/
Buffalo Tea Party: Mad As Hell
http://www.peachpundit.com/2009/03/28/warner-robins-tea-party/
Warner Robins Tea Party
http://sanjoseteaparty.blogspot.com/2009/03/people-who-should-have-known-better.html
San Jose Tea Party - 04/15/09
http://rebuildtheparty.ning.com/xn/detail/2490084:Event:140426
The Twin Cities, MN Tea Party
http://buffaloshark.wnymedia.net/blogs/2009/03/28/tea-party-after-action-report/
Tea Party After Action Report
http://camdencommentary.blogspot.com/2009/03/another-tax-revolt-meeting-on-mondayh.html
Another “tax revolt” meeting on Monday at 6:00 PM.
Details: http://www.topix.com/forum/city/kingsland-ga/T9FJ2KMOIFJN81478
Here is basically what I said in my call to arms!
3 men in a room with the 4th being the special interests and the unions.
Where is the People Voice?
We demand structural reform with in each house the senate and assembly.
One man controls everything, all legislation and what comes to the floor for a vote, he controls committee seats and chairmanships, he controls member items, pork dollars, campaign cash, if you don’t vote the way they want you to vote, you will not get what you need and in certain cases the leadership will fund a candidate to run against you.
Sheldon Silver is the most powerful politician in NY state. WHY? I did not elect him, you did not elect him, 125,000 people from Manhattan elected him yet he controls all legislation and how it effects our lives in WNY.
What we have is a dictatorship, not a representative republic as demanded by us in the Constitution.
All this control must be distributed and spread out between 10-12 members.
We will never see reforms until this restructuring occurs.
We demand a Constitutional convention. Redistricting will happen after the census in 2010. We must have districts that are not gerrymandered to favor one party. We do not have competitive elections thereby we cannot hold our elected accountable and one party rule reigns.
Allow the people at vote on the separation of NY State.
Let Upstate be Upstate.
TOLLS
All of our major commuter roads are TOLLED, we pay for our roads twice, WHY? All tolls were to be removed from the thruway in 1996 and for another 10 years we were forced to pay tolls to get into Buffalo. They were not removed until C Paladino threatened a lawsuit according to the LAW. At that point they were taken down, only after they realized they would lose in court. Grand Island, 74 years.
We are tired of paying commuter taxes at all the toll booths in and around Buffalo. No more talk about moving them, we demand they be removed. If they are not we need to file a class action lawsuit to recoup all the toll dollars that were taken from us for the 10 years they were illegally collected, that is 90 Million we want back and given to the taxpayers of Erie County.
No more back door borrowing through the Authorities like the Thruway and Dormitory authorities. Our debt is at 16 Billion $$ Debt payments are out of control and dominate the budget.
False promises in all the campaigns, reform, restructuring, transparency? Where are they? Time after time all of our elected tell us they are running for change and it never happens. The Time is NOW and we demand it.
How can all the leadership be from NY City? Who is there to voice the concerns of us here in WNY. Why do county executives have to hire lobbyiests to represent us? Isn’t that whey we have the senate and the assembly? They sell out to the highest bidder and throw us out like used tea bags.
The Erie County legislature is second in the race for the most dysfunctional. Scare tactics from them and the unions are getting rather bothersome. If they put half of that effort into real reform then we would noty be in the position we are in today.
PENSIONS are and will be the next huge tax increase. 25% loss and WE will have to pay for the losses, not them. A simple move to tax pensions would get get this state out os debt.
We were there - great crowd!
I, like many before me, have voted with their feet and left the liberal stranglehold and unionized thugdom that is so pervasive in NY. This trend will only continue to increase.
The dependent population continues to be an ever expanding block of the voting populace that has no remorse for suckling on the taxpayers tit. The Dem politicians continue their failed promises and they get reelected with monotonous regularity.
Change will occur. But only after there is nobody left to pay the bills!
Did I miss something, or did the voters of New York elect their current and all recent governments of their own free will?
And now they want a “do-over?”
Good post!
Glad you got out before it drove you crazy!
I’ve been thinking about you today and wondering how the Tea Party went. Sounds like you had a good, passionate crowd. I hope this wakes some folks up around there! You have tried SO hard to make it happen. NY needs more people like you or it’s going straight to the sewer!
Yeah, you missed something. Upstate exists only to fund NYC. Basically an upstate vote means next to nothing when 3 people call the shots for the whole state. Our next debacle is jumping vehicle registration, tolls, and drivers license fees to prevent a fare hike for the subway riders in NYC. This is on top of a projected 16 Bil deficit for this year alone.
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