Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who's never met a tax scheme he couldn't refuse to support, now wants to impose a planned property tax increase earlier than scheduled. The 7% property tax hike was scheduled to take effect July 1, 2009, but Bloomberg wants to push it up to January 1, 2009 because of the disastrous Wall Street revenue numbers.
That's right, Bloomberg plans to add insult to injury by hitting up property owners at a time when revenues are falling. Bloomberg had previously increased property taxes, but rolled them back for a time because of the overwhelming outcry against them.
The latest call to accelerate the tax hike is a recipe for disaster, and yet Bloomberg is ordering full steam ahead.
Not once have you heard Bloomberg order spending cuts on an order of magnitude necessary to deal with the looming budget shortfalls. Of local politicians, only Governor David Paterson (D-NY) seems to understand that the situation requires cutting revenues, even if there are going to be some tax hikes. New York has increased spending by 40% since 2003. Even though Wall Street was doing gangbusters during that time, the state still overspend, and led to deficits in many of those years. The state still overspends considerably, and it's refreshing to hear Paterson talking so bluntly about the situation he inherited from Governors Pataki and Spitzer.
Gov. Paterson is calling on NYS AG Andrew Cuomo to investigate the rampant fraud and possible mismanagement at the LIRR. Just think of what could be done if the state and federal government actually paid attention to the featherbedding contracts awarded to the likes of LIRR workers, to say nothing of the rampant fraud and mismanagement of federal, state, and local agencies that has cost taxpayers $250 million since 2000 alone. It's particularly rich that the head of the LIRR says that he's not at fault for the situation there. Few if any are held accountable for situations such as this. They get a pass.
That has to come to an abrupt end.
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