Following state budget approval, worst may still be around corner
Don't look now, but the rocky start to the current fiscal year for New York State may get even bumpier when you take a closer look at some of the figures featured in the $121.7 billion spending plan approved by legislators earlier this month.

DAN MEYER Political Columnist

The budget adopted by the Legislature increased spending in a recessionary time as we are being led by a new governor who somehow found it fitting to call the spending plan a "sound budget."

What about that record pork-barrel spending figure of $200 million and an overall increase in spending of nearly 5 percent, which includes $1.5 billion in new taxes and $205 million in new fees? Is that considered to be sound? What about fiscally responsible? I think not.

But it goes beyond the numbers themselves. You can crunch the numbers all you want, but sometimes it is the process that was utilized to calculate those numbers that tells the true story of a state government that is still fatally flawed and hopelessly hampered by petty partisan politics.

The way the budget process was conducted - besides being nine days late - was embarrassing but not totally surprising since it was leaked last week that secretive budget negotiations took place amongst a handful of selfish elected officials who were hot to trot for those pork-barrel bucks. Talk about being out of touch. Despite the reality that should be slamming them right between the eyes, we witnessed the seedy and secretive practice of budget negotiations being held behind closed doors.

In the words of Denny Farrell Jr., who serves as chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, "there was no sunshine" when it came to budget talks that obviously occurred behind the scenes.

Open government is something Gov. David Paterson has mentioned in recent weeks whenever he's addressed the future of our state, including the policies and practices preferred by lawmakers with offices in Albany. But where is this transparency, and where are the signs that Paterson is anywhere close to introducing it to his colleagues?

I don't want to blame it all on Paterson. After all, this week marks the one-month anniversary of his introduction as our new leader following the Spitzer sex scandal. He's obviously still getting his feet wet and learning the finer points of how difficult it's going to be to change the state's senseless spending and borrowing practices.

As Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said recently, our elected leaders in Albany should "keep an eraser handy" because, in his mind, "the worst may still be around the corner."

Amen, Tom.

Back to the budget. All hope is not lost because there were a few highlights that deserve mention despite the same-old, same-old status quo approach to the budget season that many career politicians will continue to follow until they retire.

Give credit to Paterson and his fiscal staffers for reducing spending growth when it comes to state agencies and making a commitment to investing in education and health care for children. I'm also happy to note that Medicaid spending is going to increase by less than 2 percent for next year.

But much work still needs to be done, and that DiNapoli quote of what may be lying around the corner is likely going to strike when we're least expecting it as we prepare to stare straight ahead into the face of extreme economic uncertainty. Instability at the federal level is only going to further damage a dysfunctional state government that still won't accept the fact that you can't spend money where it shouldn't be spent.

My advice? Put the political posturing and petty partisan politics aside and focus on what should be a common goal - how to address what in about seven or eight months will likely be a more than $5 billion budget gap. Simply put, the revenues aren't there. That means you need to go back to the basics and make it crystal clear that if you spend on anything other than deficit spending, you're not doing your job.

We the people do not want to pay taxes. This mindset of introducing heavy tax burdens is only going to do one thing - encourage more of us to leave the Empire State.

(Comments on this column can be sent via e-mail to: meyersmusings@gmail.com. Opinions expressed here are those of the author.)