It’s ‘alarming’ mostly from the point of view of a partisan Republican, mind you – well, it’s probably alarming to a partisan Democrat, too, if for completely different reasons. From the point of view of somebody living in New York it’s probably more like ‘a reassuring start.’ My RedState colleague Mark Impomeni breaks it down: 3% reduced state spending (including state worker layoffs), education/health care cuts, closing the budget gap without new taxes – and an end to the 2% extra surcharge on incomes over $200,000 (which also made it effectively a tax on small businesses). And then there’s this recent quote that Mark found:
“The working families of New York cannot afford tax increases. The answer is going to have to be that we’re going to have to reduce government spending,” [Cuomo] said.
That’s… unexpectedly sensible, coming from a Northeast Democrat. It’s not even remotely perfect: the above is the most basic fiscal first aid that Governor Cuomo can apply to New York’s underlying budgetary problems. Government spending should be cut more; the existing regulatory regime choking the state’s entrepreneurs must be, frankly, gutted; and taxes are too high. It’s probably too much to expect that Cuomo will be able to fight his own party in curing New York, but at least he’s doing something to stabilize the patient…
Moe Lane
PS: Mark also notes – correctly – that a lot of this sounds a bit like what Chris Christie is doing in New Jersey. I suggest that Governor Cuomo meditate on the words of Mark Twain (apparently we don’t know who said this first):
Immature writers borrow. Mature writers steal.
Always hears it was Poe.