The Hayseeds blog, No. 269 for the week starting August 10, 2008.
July 27, 2008
Hayseeds No. 268
August 10, 2008
Hayseeds No. 269
August 17, 2008
Hayseeds No. 269
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Apparently a number of public employees and unions are less then happy that salary data for all public employees is now online, despite the fact that such data has been public record for a long time.
Does it really matter much? So what, now it's easier for me to find out how much more my boss makes a week then I do. So? I could have walked over to the state library to find out the information. Transparency is a good thing.
Things still don't look good for the housing market.
That's his latest irresponsible plan to balance a potential, maybe, future, could be, deficit in the budget next year.
Everybody says they will jump ship should Bloomberg run:
Advisers to Gov. Paterson, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi say that Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent Bloomberg would spend well over $100 million in the race for governor, more than double what the best-funded Democrat could hope to match.
"Add to his money that Bloomberg is at 70 percent in the polls after two terms, that people respect him and know he's not corrupt, and you know there's no stopping him," said a prominent Democratic activist.
Should Bloomberg decide to run for governor, there's a good chance Paterson, would not, the insiders predict.
Cuomo would also take a pass on running for governor if Bloomberg is in the race, according to knowledgeable Democrats.
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This is interesting:
The national economy is probably going to get worse before it gets better. That will mean, unfortunately, more layoffs, more foreclosures and more pain for American families. Tack on rising prices for gas, food and health care, and the picture goes from bad to worse.
It would be easy to blame the whole mess on the banks who offered mortgages recklessly and the borrowers who should have known better. But the mortgage meltdown is only half the story. Congress also made several critical errors in its economic stewardship that require correcting.
First, instead of balancing its budget when the economy was strong, it ran up a massive debt. More than 40 years ago, John F. Kennedy told us that the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. In New York City, that's exactly what we did. We used the good times to save billions for the future and pay down debt. And when the storm clouds started gathering last year, we tightened our belts by cutting agency budgets by more than $1 billion.
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This is kind of a nice little story.
The whole deal by Paterson is woefully overblown says the New York Times.
The New York Sun on Shelly Silver and his majority sticking up for working families against the demands of the right-wing governor.
So Paterson orders.
Apparently everybody agrees something must be done, but few are willing to agree on solutions.
The Press-Republicans says they'll carefully evaluate any LtE they publish.
The TU grapples with their sometimes very opinionated news pages.
Daily Gazette compiles ideas on how to save money without too much pain.
Fred LeBrun says wealthy New Yorkers should pay to fix the budget.
This certainly is different.
Apparently one way to compare inflation is to look at the price of a big mac hamburger in other countries.
It appears Tim Gordon will have an opponent in November.
The liberal Times Union declares the Alberto Gonzales the worst Attorney General ever.
The Schoharie County Sunshine Fair opens tomorrow.
I'm sure his office was less then pleased to find out about this story in the paper.
Be aware of this scam—I got this email on my Linux laptop, and while I didn't open it, it's the most authentic looking scam I've ever seen.
Everybody seems to love this video.
He says with the little administrative things proposed, there will be more then enough money to make ends meet into next year.
Fewer enrolled Republicans in many states as the Bush presidency does further damage to the party.
It seems that he survived a challenge to his petitions.
He seeks to invest in more nontraditional and more risky investments, hoping that the return will be better on such investments.
The yearly joker, running for election as a GOP-candidate for County Executive and other offices, is back this year, running for District Attorney in Albany County on an independent party line known as the Integrity Party.
Not that anybody will find him all the way down the ballot. Yet, it's fun to be the protest candidate, and I'm sure some people will vote for him to protest David Soares' handling of Troopergate. It's good to at least have options, even if Cusick doesn't have a prayer.
I really liked Cusick last year when he ran for County Executive as a Republican. He got my vote, as he was opposed to the money wasting convention center.
A group of "upstate taxpayers" is suing the state, claiming that giving big economic development checks to well-connected developers is unconstitutional.
The article gives some examples:
The suit lists a host of examples of grants in the current state budget, including $25 million to Delphi Harrison, a manufacturer of automotive heating and cooling systems; $300 million to an unnamed international computer chip research and development center, and $5 million to the Rochester Rhinos Soccer stadium.
James Ostrowski, the Buffalo lawyer representing the group, said he did not know of a similar court challenge having ever been brought in New York.
It's an interesting question. Yet, I think we all agree the state should be promoting economic development, but maybe not by giving money directly to already wealthy corporations. Low-interest loans to competitively-bid small businesses or other grants might be far more reasonable approach.
Her primary against Nancy Pelosi sounds like a lot of fun, except do the people of San Fransico want to vote themselves out of clout in DC?
They weren't telling members how to decisions by the insurance company went they sent out EOBs.
Capital District Physicians Health Plan and CDPHP - Universal Benefits Inc., have been fined $600,000 because they failed to advise consumers how to appeal when their claims were denied, Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo announced today.
The Albany-based health insurance companies have agreed to contact members who filed claims for health care services to make sure they received proper denial notices. The settlement includes 121,911 claims submitted between 2004 and 2006. CDPHP and UBI cover more than 400,000 people in 29 New York counties in the central and eastern parts of the state.
These notices are required by law and they give consumers important information regarding coverage under insurance policies, Dinallo said. Explanation of benefits, or EOBs, spell out how a claim has been processed, what costs are covered by the insurer, what costs must be paid by the member, and specifically what steps a consumer can take to appeal the denial of a claim.
That's a lot of money, even for CDPHP. I'm surpised they didn't know better, but maybe it was a business decision to risk the rath of the Insurance commissioner.
Few people knew who he was, but he was largely responsible for Jerry Jennings' rise to power from the inside.
Or how politicos have fun in the summer.
What a great idea to try to at least reduce the appearance of lobbyist influence on the political system.
China's planning on being super-strict:
The Olympics should be fascinating to watch:
It will, China has promised, be the biggest Olympic games ever held.
After seven years of preparations, the venues are ready, new subway lines have opened, polluting factories have been shut down, the medals girls have perfected their "eight-tooth" smile, and locals are being schooled in the "Olympic Four-Step" - a nifty set of moves designed to pump up the home team.
It is costing an estimated $42 billion - some $40 billion on revamping the city with $2 billion on the games themselves – to welcome 205 participating countries. That is four more countries than Athens got in 2004.
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The Working Families Party has a new blog covering the fight over the budget and the perceived lack of state revenue.
We continue to learn more.
More yahoos are destroying public artwork on the streets of Saratoga, although at least now they caught the criminals on video tape.
Hopefully, they will arrest and prosecute these criminals to the full extent of the law, possibly with lengthy jail sentences to send a message that such destruction is unacceptable. If the person is charged with crimininal mischief in the third degree for damaging public property exceeding $250 in value, then the person can be sentenced for up to 4 years in jail.
Big fire in a warehouse used to store paper products.
Sounds great if your a fan of conspiracy theories and believe the US is going to destroy itself by invading Iran and forcing gas prices into the $20/gallon range.
With so many candidates running, people are already getting fed up will all the crap they are getting.
I've already gotten "legislative" mailings from Tim Gordon and Neil Breslin. That's particularly fun in light of the fact I'm not registered to vote in Tim Gordon's district.
Some fascinating commentary on the history of Albany.
This probably was not a good idea on the foreign relations front, even if it was justified.
This NY Times magazine article is worth a look.
More abuse by China's government.
Many of the shows can be listened to online.
The Times Union speculates on reasons for the veto, including the tough times the state is facing, along with basic equity to other cities.
From the Governor's Veto Message:
VETO MESSAGE - No. 68
TO THE SENATE: I am returning herewith, without my approval, the following bill: Senate Bill Number 4255-D, entitled:
"AN ACT to amend the public lands law, in relation to certain state leased or state-owned lands"
NOT APPROVED
The City of Albany, like the State, is experiencing major fiscal chal-lenges. In addition, as the capital of New York, the City houses quite afew properties on which it is unable to collect taxes because Real Prop-erty Tax Law Section 404 exempts State-owned land from local taxation.
This bill would require the State to make payments in lieu of taxes(PILOTs) to the City of Albany for the W. Averell Harriman State OfficeBuilding Campus (Harriman Campus) for thirty years. For the year 2008,the PILOT would be $5,500,000 and thereafter the annual PILOT would be$11,000,000. Over the next thirty years, the State would pay$324,500,000 in PILOTs for the Harriman Campus. The PILOTs sought to beprovided under this bill would be used to alleviate some of Albany'sfinancial burdens including providing municipal services to the HarrimanCampus.
I am keenly aware of Albany's fiscal situation. However, in thiscurrent economic environment, I am simply unable to approve this bill.
The Harriman Campus is a large business complex which brings thousandsof people to the City of Albany every weekday, and many State employeeschoose to make the City of Albany their home because of its proximity totheir work, which increases the City of Albany's tax rolls. The state iscurrently working with the City of Albany to attract private business tothe Harriman Campus and create a Research and Technology Park there. Inaddition, we will continue to work with the City to ascertain its costsin providing services to the Harriman Campus.
The bill is disapproved. (signed) DAVID A. PATERSON __________
Life is tough in city right now. They've spent more then they've taken in. So is life. Upstate cities, with dying manufacturing bases all face difficult decisions. Albany, previously exempt them such trends by other state gifts, now faces a wake up call.
His point that the state is doing much to redevelop the Harriman campus is well taken. The campus does bring people into the city, and it does encourage people to live in the city. Many state workers do work in the city.
That's what Dean Skelos is quoted by telling Mike Bloomberg.
Lot of purty new buildings in China rising in the haze.
People like his so-called honesty over the fake budget crisis.
To help balance it's budget without the PILOT payments, they plan to trim some fat around the city and lay off some unneeded employees.
They will do this tommorow:
Senate Republicans will pass legislation Friday that would cap school districts' costs for teachers' pensions as part of a sweeping mandate-relief package, aides said Tuesday.
The pension cap would limit the growth of districts' costs to 4 percent annually with the state picking up the rest of any increase. It is one of several mandate-relief proposals Senate Republicans will approve when they return Friday to Albany, aides said.
The measures come as Senate Republicans have made approving Gov. David Paterson's tax-cap plan a centerpiece of their agenda heading into the November elections. Republicans cling to a 31-30 seat majority.
The tax cap would limit the growth in school taxes to 4 percent a year. But Republican leaders said they recognize that it needs to be coupled with mandate relief for schools, which fear a tax cap alone would infringe on their ability to fund classroom education.
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The Ithaca Times looks at property tax cap versus a circuit breaker.
They aren't happy they won't be getting more state money to balance their budget.
DIA like usual, he some insightful things to say about Albany's budget crisis now that additional PILOT payments have been vetoed.
The words to describe the brewing crisis in Albany made worst by the PILOT veto, according to DIA.
The people over at Danger Democrat suggest that using reasonable numbers more people will save under the circuit breaker proposal often proposed by Democrats.
The blog argues that $34,006 is the average income in the Jefferson County in the North Country, and that average tax bill is $2,900 in combined county, town, and school taxes. That would be 8.05% versus the cap of 6%, which would mean after the cap, you'd still pay $2,900 in September, but would in May or June of the next year get a check back (state tax return check) from the state government for $860, assuming that money is appropriated in the next year's budget for property tax relief as promised, and you owe the state none in extra taxes.
In Albany County the numbers work out as $42,935 household income and $4,462 for property taxes. That works out to 10.3% of income (!!) Under the circuit breaker, that would result in a refund check of $1,886 after you do your state income taxes in April. Not a bad deal.
All and all, the Democrats are right in saying the circuit breaker will save you more money. Even assuming that property owners are wealthier then the median household income (likely), they would get money back from their state until their family income exceeded $74,350 with average property taxation in the county. If their property taxes exceeded $4,462 a year (having a nicer home or more land then average) then they'd still save money.
I don't know how the state could tie aid more directly to the time property taxes are due. They couldn't calculate yearly income in October, before the year ends, so it would be next to impossible to send rebate checks out prior to getting income filings the next April. That could be a problem for working families who wouldn't have the money to make it to the next year when they get the money back to the state.
There is the whole question of the legislature reneging on their promise for the circuit breaker relief before the checks go out in the next fiscal year. Politically, though, that's probably a suicidal move. Then there is no control on the growth of school spending—I suspect the state will insist that they aren't left paying out unlimited funds under a circuit breaker. Why wouldn't schools increase spending by 15% ever year, and voters vote for it, if they knew they'd get big fat checks from the state every May by doing as such (even if they pay big time in October)?
Albany isn't the only city facing some tough times.
Covered in smog but with lots of glitz they have a started.
It should be interesting to see what happens.
That's certainly a question some are asking.
A great editorial in the Times Union.
When it comes to cuts, there are no easy choices. Mr. Paterson wants to slice $1.2 billion from the current state budget, and prepare to address a $6.4 billion deficit in next year's budget. And he is looking for big savings in two areas — education and health care — that are sure to spark resistance in the Legislature and among voters.
It will also be difficult to slice 7 percent across the board from state agencies, as the governor proposes. That's because some departments, such as insurance, banking, are funded largely by the fields they regulate, so there are few areas to yield significant cost savings. That, in turn, could mean deeper cuts would have to come from corrections and other departments with large payrolls.
But why cut deeply into basic services when a modest tax increase on New York's wealthiest households would yield, by some estimates, $1.5 billion in the first year alone? It's called the millionaire's tax, and it would apply to households with $1 million income or more.
Regrettably, the Senate returns to Albany today with a tax cap high on the Republican majority's agenda. A cap may sound appealing, but it is no solution to New York's red ink. A millionaire's tax is. Senate Republicans who oppose such a tax, and Mr. Paterson, who also opposes the millionaire's tax, need to face economic reality: The state needs more revenue, and it needs it now.
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Shocking news on how much some state employees are paid.
And guess what kids, they are moving to China, where slave labors can make them dirt cheap.
The Times Union insists that the state give the city more money.
Russia has invaded the country of Georgia.
That is today. The NY Times explores the meaning.
