Gov. Andrew Cuomo took his budget outline to Marist College in Poughkeepsie Jan. 20, staking out the political center and demanding those in Albany abandon their “pattern of dysfunction” and meet him there.
The state is both awash in red ink ”“ a cumulative $10 billion this year, Cuomo said ”“ and is facing more, including a 476 percent rise in state pension needs by 2013, “a crisis in the true meaning of the word,” he said
“We will survive, but it is not going to be pleasant,” said Assemblyman Joel Miller, who, along with state Sen. Steve Saland, both of Dutchess County, introduced the governor.
“We are at a crossroads and we are not on a favorable path,” Cuomo said, setting the stage for a sobering assessment of state finances followed by a rhetorical call to greatness ”“ “Let us rise up and perform and actually make this state the Empire State again” ”“ that was reminiscent of his father in scope and inflection.
He ticked off a state list of woes that included 800,000 unemployed ”“ a number 66 percent higher than is normal ”“ and an annual economic growth rate of 1.7 percent, a full percentage point below the national average.
State spending is currently outpacing inflation by 2.7 percent in the general fund, by 5.4 percent for Medicaid and by 6.2 percent for education.
“Revenue is up 3.8 percent per year, but spending is up 6 percent,” Cuomo said. “We”™re trying to spend what we don”™t have. We”™ve been spending too much for years.”
The result, said Cuomo: “People are voting with their feet ”“ 2 million people have left this state.”
Cuomo called for a “new perspective” regarding government that will lead to a consolidation of departments and services across the state. “Thirteen of the 16 highest-taxed counties in the U.S. are in New York,” he said. Dutchess County”™s local tax burden “is 167 percent above the national average.” He offered a brief reflection on the administration of the Happy Warrior, Gov. Al Smith, who limited state government to 20 departments. The state must, by law, adhere to Smith”™s 20-department rule. But, said Cuomo, it has spun out “hundreds upon hundreds of councils, panels, groups. The Department of Health today has 87 organizations clustered around it. It”™s unmanageable. It”™s expensive. It”™s inefficient. And it”™s bizarre. It is a joke.
“We pay the highest education rates and we rank 34th in test results,” he said. Medicaid also saw New York spend the most and get only the 21st-best return on its money.
“The situation has to change and it is going to change,” Cuomo said.
Offering a carrot, Cuomo will propose a map of 10 regions within the state in his fiscal 2011-2012 budget. He wants a $200 million fund to reward the best economic development plans from within the regions.
Cuomo called for New York again to become “the progressive capital of the nation. We have to turn a system of dysfunction, gridlock and corruption into one of performance, integrity and pride.”
The budget is due April 1, the first day of the state”™s fiscal year.
