Let The Public Employee Furloughs Begin

In a move that will be increasingly common across the country in the coming years, New York state legislators approved a furlough affecting 100,000 New York public employees.

"Legislators on Monday night reluctantly approved furloughing 100,000 state workers for the first time in New York history.

The unprecedented move forcing employees to take one unpaid day off per week came after Governor Patterson threatened to shut down state government."

The measure being taken by New York State was largely avoidable. If public sector employee had been willing to reduce their already incredibly lavish pay and benefits across the board by as a little as 10%, furloughs would have been unnecessary.

Of course, agreeing to such concessions would go against the bull-headed nature of public sector unions.

In time however, for states like New York, California and New Jersey that have nightmare fiscal deficits , furloughs will ultimately prove to be insufficient and mass layoffs of public employees and slashing of promised pension benefits will be required in order to get state budgets in line with tax receipts.

For taxpayers that are sick and tired of funding lavish retirements of public employees (good luck to anyone who think they can get these types of retirement benefits in the private sector), this type of fiscal reckoning can't come soon enough.

NY To Delay Tax Refunds

In yet another sign that states' budget deficits are increasingly untenable, New York state has announced that it will delay refunding 2009 tax refunds.

"For hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, the check won't be in the mail -- at least not on time. New York State has stopped paying tax refunds and won't start again until next month.

Message to New Yorkers: don't start spending your tax refund money because it's going to be delayed."

Anyone want to guess how this arrangement would go over if it was the taxpayer who was declining to send money to the state?

This abuse of taxpayers has got to stop. New York state politicians, and politicians from all others states that are just like it, must be given a stinging reminder in November's elections that the taxpayer is the master of the politician, not the other way around.

The days of chronic overspending at the state and federal level must end.

Politicians that use taxpayer's hard-earned money as currency in order to ensure their own reelection must be unceremoniously removed from office.

NY Lt. Governor - Let's Borrow Our Way Out Of Our Fiscal Mess!

New York Lt. Governor Richard Ravitch recently proposed that the state simply borrow its way out of its current budget predicament.

"Albany would sell bonds to cover operating expenses under one controversial cure being floated by Ravitch, who is working on a four-year long-term plan to stabilize the state's finances.

To avoid having to get voter approval for adding to the state's already staggering $60.4 billion debt load, Ravitch's plan would look to issue the bonds through a public authority."

First of all, 'kicking the can' down the road for future generations to deal with the economic implications of New York state's unwillingness to address their budget issues is cowardly and gutless.

Secondly, it's underhanded and devious to then subvert voters by undertaking the new borrowing through back channels (using a public authority).

Taxpayers in New York state should send a message to Albany that the state's fiscal issues need to be resolved now, through decreased state spending that is brought in-line with state tax revenues. To do anything less is a disservice to current and future taxpayers.