Ideas for REAL budget reform

New York State does have very real fiscal problems. But this year’s Proposal One does not address them.

The most obvious problem with New York State’s budget is that it spends too much.

That’s not just a value judgment regarding our highest-in-the-nation taxes. Our state debt, too, is far too high, as three state comptrollers—Republican Edward V. Regan in the 1980s, Democrat H. Carl McCall in the 1990s, and incumbent Democrat Alan G. Hevesi—have shown in report after report.

Real budget reform would increase, rather than decrease, the chances for honest-to-goodness, long-term budget balance without higher taxes. Making such provisions part of the Constitution should be the goal of today’s budget reformers.

First, New York should join the more than 20 states that limit elected officials' spending through their Constitutions. Governor Cuomo and the Legislature enacted a spending cap in 1990, but allowed it to expire in 1992. A spending cap linked to growth in population and the cost of living would make the state budget more responsibly balanced and ease pressure for new taxes.

The state's Constitution should also require that each year's enacted budget be balanced. Under the current rules, and under Proposal One, the Legislature is under no requirement to balance the budget.

As Comptroller Hevesi proposes, the Constitution should require significantly tighter limits on state debt.

And Albany should also require of itself the same sort of voter education that it demands of school districts, which must send taxpayers an annual notice of the increase in spending and taxes, compared to inflation.

More spending, and higher taxes!
Is that what New York needs? You know the answer!

Vote ‘NO’ on November 8.