“It’s hard to believe there’s a recession,” a friend recently observed, as he navigated the jam-packed parking lot at a suburban Albany shopping mall. While private-sector workers in the capital region have, in fact, suffered like everyone else during the downturn, many of those cars likely belonged to the favored not-so-few: state employees. New York’s statewide unemployment rate in January hit 9%, the highest level in 26 years. New York City’s rate was 10.6%. In addition, untold thousands of New Yorkers have seen their hours or wages slashed, their health benefits cut, and their retirement accounts plummet. But in New...