Anti-business and anti-consumer.
How else can you characterize Gov. David Paterson”™s recent vetoes concerning the promotion of state agriculture and allowing public input on hospitals slated for closing?
In vetoing the two bills, all the governor indicated in a press release was had he signed them into law they would have cost taxpayers more than $1 million. Seems to us a mere pittance compared with the onerous payroll tax the governor unflinchingly served to businesses in Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Dutchess and Orange counties in order to pay for the MTA bailout.
Farmers are not generally wealthy individuals. They work long days for little pay in return. Dairy farmers are beholden to the whims of the market. Milk prices per hundredweight are lower today than they were 20 years ago. Milk prices have plummeted over the past year, according to the New York Farm Bureau, which said farmers are losing at least $5 per hundredweight of milk produced.
Congress recently approved $290 million in direct aid to New York dairy farmers.
“If we can bail out Wall Street, we should certainly bail out our farm families,” farmer and Farm Bureau President Dean Norton said.
Needless, to say, farmers operate at a loss. Any attempts to help with their economic development would be a good thing.
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State legislative bills A.4277 and S.1329, which passed both houses, would have required the Department of Economic Development along with the Department of Agriculture and Markets to create and distribute statewide guides to farms, farmers and other agriculturally significant tourist destinations.
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Boosting agritourism via promotion of farmers markets, farm tours, hay rides and other endeavors has a beneficial economic trickledown effect for the communities in which these events take place.
But promoting these events is not easy for struggling farm families.
In justifying the bill, the Assembly and Senate versions stated:
“The tourists who discover these (businesses) usually become loyal customers and actively seek out similar destinations. However, many potential visitors to different regions of (the) state are not aware of all our agricultural treasures. The Department of Agriculture and Markets produces a guide to New York farm-fresh food but most tourist(s) contact the Department of Economic Development”™s I Love New York program for information. This bill would ensure that when people call for travel information they are provided with or informed of the availability of agricultural guides for the regions of the state where they live or are planning to visit.”
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Any wonder the state is near the bottom in economic development endeavors?
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In regard to damning consumers, the other piece of legislation that was vetoed would have required the Health Department to hold a public hearing on the local impact of a hospital closing.
Essentially, the purpose of these bills ”“Â A.8461C and S.5802A ”“ would be to make sure no one in the community of the hospital would be left in the lurch in regard to receiving health care.
Within 30 days of receiving notice of a hospital”™s intent to shut down, the state health commissioner would have had to hold a public hearing on the impact of the closing and, within 30 days of the hearing, “provide the Legislature and governor with a report detailing specific measures the Health Department and other parties have taken or will take to ameliorate such anticipated impact of the hospital”™s closing.”
According to the authors of the legislation, there would be no “fiscal implications.”
As far as the agriculture promotion bill, costs would be dependent on the number of promotional items printed and mailed.
Keep in mind, tourism guides are already printed by the state. Would it cost a million dollars to edit one of them to include agritourism?
If it does, we would like to be on that editorial payroll.
