Taking back the future

The road to economic recovery won”™t be an easy one to travel.

The journey will require shared sacrifice as well as courage.

But if the business owners and residents of New York state can endure these perilous times, the luster can return to the Empire State.

That was part of the enthusiastically delivered tough love speech Gov. David Paterson gave last week in his first State of the State address before an overcrowded chamber in Albany.

If the governor can get a majority of lawmakers from both houses to back his proposals, businesses in the state would be able to reap the benefits.

He summed up his agenda in order of importance:

Balance the budget.
Strengthen the health care system.
Improve the schools.
Create jobs.
Rebuild infrastructure.
Clean up the environment and begin a “clean energy revolution.”

And lastly, addressing moral responsibility, he said, “Even in these difficult times, we must make sure we respect one another, serve one another and protect one another.”

In reaching his goals, Paterson said he will not expend more of the taxpayers”™ money. Instead, he said the economy can be rebuilt, and health care and education can be improved by “spending more effectively.”

Channeling Franklin D. Roosevelt and his speeches, Paterson said this is no time for fear, but rather a time for action. Just as Americans were bridled with the economic fallout of the Great Depression, Paterson said, “This year, a new generation of New Yorkers will be tested. Now, it is our time to lead.”

The governor stressed that the state and its residents cannot just weather the economic crisis, but rather set a foundation for the future of the state.

To do so, he suggested infrastructure projects, and not surprisingly, recommended the long suffering and constantly repaired Tappan Zee Bridge among several statewide. While he did not offer up any suggestions as to where the money would come from for the major infrastructure works, he followed by saying that the state should partner with the private sector to maximize state assets. A public-private partnership had been suggested by the short-lived previous administration as the funding mechanism to get a new bridge built across the Hudson River.

To attract new companies to the state, the governor suggested lowering the cost of doing business here.

“Property taxes are too high. We should cap them. State mandates are too burdensome. We should relieve them.”

We”™d like to think the governor has been reading our editorials, for his next suggestion was what we have been recommending to him all along: act on the recommendations of the New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness.

Consolidation of services is the key to the commission”™s report. There is so much duplication of services in this state that it would be laughable if it were not so unnecessarily costly. With 4,720 government entities in the state, there is plenty of room for setting up shared services once the logistics are sorted out. But the high cost of government is not the sole problem. Keep in mind that the largest share of property taxes ”“ 61 percent ”“ comes from school districts. And there”™s the rub; try getting them on board to consolidate.

Let”™s hope that Paterson toes his own line of not spending more, but spending more effectively when it comes to schools.

The one aspect where Paterson stumbled in his address was his lack of including the Hudson Valley in his plans to shore up the state”™s economy. As brought up in previous States of the State, too much focus was on the shaky upstate economy.

“We must revitalize every part of New York state. We are one state with one

future. That”™s why I reunited our leadership for the state”™s economic development,” the governor said in one breath, and quickly followed with another, “That”™s why, just as we help the financial sector rebuild, we must also reaffirm our commitment to specific programs and projects targeted at revitalizing upstate, including the Upstate Revitalization Fund.”

Aargh!

Let the upstate/downstate dichotomy die.

Let the Hudson Valley receive some of those “upstate” economic benefits, governor.

Let us abide by your words of “we are one state with one future.”