(New York) State put freeze on hiring, then added 51,464 people

The Post-Standard-Syracuse NY ^ | March 28, 2010, 5:00AM | By Delen Goldberg

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Gov. David Paterson ordered a “hard” hiring freeze in state government nearly two years ago, declaring that only “absolutely essential” positions be filled.

But state officials hired 51,464 people at a cost to taxpayers of more than $1 billion in salaries, plus fringe benefits, since that decree on July 30, 2008.

The hires include sons of elected officials, a close friend of the governor’s and a slew of highly paid political appointees.

Former Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll, for example, makes $155,000 a year in an environmental job the governor created for him. Paterson hired an executive assistant at $178,000 a year, a special assistant at $135,000 a year and a scheduler at $105,000 a year. A man responsible for blogging and tweeting for the Senate was hired by the Democratic majority at $120,000 a year.

Other state agencies hired photography assistants, tree pruners and ski school instructors, often with approval from Paterson’s Division of Budget.

Two summers ago, Paterson announced a “hard” hiring freeze as the nation’s economy soured and the state’s budget gap grew.

[SunkenCiv]

'Saturday Night Live' mocks Governor Paterson's blindness, past drug use by Stephanie Gaskell Sunday, December 14th 2008

Saturday Night Live pushed the envelope last night with... Fred Armisen as Paterson during a segment on "Weekend Update." ...Armisen, as Paterson, says he has three criteria: economic experience, upstate influence and someone with a disability who is completely unprepared for the job - just like him. "I want to choose a senator not from the glitzy coke parties of Manhattan but rather from the shabbier coke circles of upstate new york," he said. "I'm tired of all these fancy, two-eyed smart alecs from the big city running the whole show. It's time we get someone from Utica, Syracuse or Schnectady - towns where people have something a little off about him. I mean, they don't have to be blind," he said. "I just need someone with like a gamey arm or maybe the giant gums with the tiny teeth. Let's get one of those in the Senate." The fake Paterson points out that he only became governor because of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer's prostition scandal. "Whoever is appointed senator must - like me - be caught totally off guard and be comically unprepared to take office," he said. "Come on, I'm a blind man who loves cocaine who was suddenly appointed governor of New York. My life is an actual plot from a Richard Pryor movie."

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ACTUAL HEADLINE:

Paterson In A Blind Rage Over 'SNL' Skit

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Governor Paterson proposes 'Obesity Tax,' a tax on non-diet sodas
by Glenn Blain and Kenneth Lovett
with Edgar Sandoval and Erica Pearson
Daily News Albany Bureau
Sunday, December 14th 2008

Gov. Paterson, as part of a $121 billion budget to be unveiled Tuesday, will propose an "obesity tax" of about 15% on nondiet drinks. This means a Diet Coke might sell for a $1 - even as the same size bottle of its calorie-rich alter ego would go for $1.15. Paterson's budget also calls for a 3% cut in education spending, a $620-a-year tuition hike at SUNY and a $600 increase at CUNY - and about $3.5 billion in health care cuts, a source said. The Democratic governor will not call for a broad-based income tax boost, but he will push to restore the sales tax on clothing and footwear... State employees again will be asked to forgo their 3% raises next year and defer five days' pay until they leave their jobs, the source said. In all, Paterson will propose about $9 billion in cuts, $4 billion in new taxes and fees, and $1.5 billion in nonrecurring revenue, a second source said. The so-called obesity tax would generate an estimated $404 million a year. Milk, juice, diet soda and bottled water would be exempt from the tax... Public health advocates welcomed news of the tax, saying it would help the fight against childhood obesity. "Raising the price of this liquid candy will put children and teens on a path to a healthier diet," said Elie Ward of the American Academy of Pediatrics of New York State.

[and now, the buried lead:] The Paterson administration also announced steps yesterday to expand the state's social services net, including a 30% increase in welfare payments over three years starting January 2010, increased money for food banks and expanded access to the state's Family Health Plus program. Paterson also hopes to make it easier for people to enroll in Medicaid by eliminating face-to-face interviews and fingerprinting requirements.

[SunkenCiv]

The steady downward spiral of the Paterson administration puzzles analysts.

[Let's Roll]

Sounds like New Mexico. Here you had to be a FOB, i.e. Friend of Bill (Richardson), and you could be hired way over your skill level - if you even had a skill level. But that wasn’t important because there were no job descriptions anyway for positions being made up on the fly.

[mewzilla]

No wonder the state’s gonna lose at least one or two House seats, eh?

[mewzilla]

BTTT.

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BTTT.

[mo]

Wanna bet ‘Bammy gave ‘em the money to hire these folks?....

[mewzilla]

BTTT.

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BTTT.

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[Hojczyk]

Moved out in 1981...best thing I ever did!!!! Who ever said move west young man was right..

[mewzilla]

Upstate needs its own state.

[mewzilla]

Paging folks in Maine: What your two senators are about to vote to enable...

[PGR88]

New York City has to be cut off from the rest of the State. New York is becoming like some 3rd world, corrupt, socialist hell-hole, with a teeming megalopolis calling the shots, while the peasants outside becoming poorer and poorer.

[mewzilla]

BTTT.

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BTTT.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Just be sure to stop somewhere before the Pacific and you’ll be ok.