New York's Busted Budget

New York's political leadership is unable or unwilling to curb the state's steep and growing deficit. Governor Paterson is out of political capital, the Democrats are beholden to public sector unions that oppose cuts and the Republicans won't agree on how big the deficit really us.

Gov. David Paterson's impassioned plea to the New York State Legislature to address the state's steep and growing deficit appears to have fallen on deaf ears. Yesterday's special legislative session called by Paterson yielded no progress toward an agreement on the governor's Deficit Reduction Plan. Lawmakers in the Senate and the Assembly debated amending the state's foreclosure law, establishing an energy loan program, and addressing parole loopholes in the correctional system, then agreed to further explore the issues, which is to say they didn't really accomplish anything. The day amounted to little more than talking about talking some more at a later date. There was also some activity surrounding a gay marriage bill, but Senate Democrats are unwilling to put it to a vote because it does not have enough support to pass.

It seems that since Democrats and Republicans can't even agree on just how big the deficit really is, perhaps they should worry a little more about the budget situation and leave gay marriage and some of these other issues for a later date. This lack of ability to prioritize is but one reason why Albany's lawmakers got into this mess in the first place. Another reason is that state Democrats are beholden to public sector unions that have done a fine job of squeezing higher wages and benefits for government employees while the state's private sector continues to disintegrate.

Paterson's well-meaning attempts at correcting New York's budget woes have likely come too late to save his job. His poor leadership up to this point means that he has virtually no political capital left to spend. Legislative leaders in his own party have thumbed their noses at his ideas but have not offered any viable alternatives to address the problem. A voter backlash similar to what took place last week in several downstate counties may very well be in store for him and several incumbents next year. Albany could sure use a new perspective. Unfortunately, the state literally cannot afford to wait that long.