Regarding Sen. Rath's column:

The following comments are based on Sen. (Mary Lou) Rath's March 19, 2008 column in The Clarence Bee regarding the New York State Senate proposal for a state spending cap.

Increases would be limited to 120 percent of the increase in the Consumer Price Index or 4 percent, whichever is lower.

1) In my opinion, the state spending cap should be a per capita value to reflect the fact that state spending is driving people out of Western New York.

2) The per capita value should be based on the number of non- government employees, which will also reflect the fact that state spending is driving business out of Western New York. The biggest expenditure is Medicaid.

3) The increase should be 50 percent of the Consumer Price Index to reflect the fact that state spending is not cost-effective and thereby increases the inflation rate.

At present I am completely opposed to what she is proposing.

If she believes that my comments are incorrect, she is free to tell me why.
Michael Patterson
Fairlane Drive
Clarence Center