Budget Is Opportunity To Change Business As Usual In Albany
Wednesday, February 3 2010
To the Editor:
As the state and nation continue to deal with the effects of the ongoing economic crisis, New Yorkers begin this year with an opportunity to finally change how we do things and with a chance to set us on a course that will bring real economic recovery that creates good-paying jobs.
It begins with the state budget, which was proposed by the Governor and now will be taken up by the Legislature.
For the better part of the last few decades, governors have proposed budgets that the Legislature has then added to and amended until we spend more than the people can afford.
This year, we have to do things differently. With his budget the Governor has proposed spending almost $1 billion more than last year, with an array of taxes and fees to make that possible.
I say, enough.
In the State Senate, I have been pushing for us to cut even more than what the Governor has proposed, to reject new taxes and fees, and to take a long, hard look at every dollar we spend in the state. My goal is that we actually spend less than we did last year.
It seems logical to spend less when times are hard, but in Albany, it is actually quite a novel idea. Only once in the past 20 years has the state spent less in its total budget than the year before.
This year, things are different. And so we must do things differently. It will require tough choices and a fundamental re-examination of how our state operates, but I think everyone would agree that the time to do it is now.
This will not be a simple endeavor. But even within the Governor’s proposed budget there are hints at how to do it. First, the Governor has proposed modest consolidation efforts that will reduce inefficiency and redundancy at the agency and authority level. We should do even more.
The Governor has also begun to consider some of the ideas I have been advocating in regard to performance-based budgeting. Rather than just budget the same dollars as last year for a given agency or a given program, let’s consider whether these dollars are being spent effectively. This is another idea that sounds logical, has not happened all that often in the past few decades.
If we are going to spend less than last year, we are also going to have to accept the fact that the state simply cannot do everything everyone wants it to do. The reason the Legislature typically adds to the Governor’s budget is that everyone who is unhappy with the Governor’s proposal comes calling and asking for more. This year, unlike the past, we have to learn a powerful word: “No.”
In the coming weeks, we should expect this discussion to become quite lively. You might even hear ads criticizing me or others for not giving special interest groups everything they want. But if we are going to do things differently, set our state on a better course, and have an economic recovery that creates good jobs, all those in favor of real change have to stand together and weather this storm.
We certainly face a great challenge in this year’s budget. But in this challenge lies a great opportunity - an opportunity for real and lasting change.
-Sen. David Valesky
Valesky represents the 49th Senate District, and is Vice President Pro-Tempore of the New York State Senate
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