By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – As promised, Governor David Paterson on Tuesday unveiled a $134 billion budget proposal for 2010 that calls for tough cuts and new taxes to close a massive deficit.
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School districts would lose five percent under the governor's plan. Hospitals and nursing homes too would have funding slashed. All agencies would see cuts and four prisons would close. But Paterson said one billion dollars in new revenues also is needed to close a $7.4 billion deficit.
He would put an extra dollar tax on cigarettes and a new tax on sweetened beverages. Native Americans also could soon be taxed on their cigarette sales if Patterson has his way. Paterson wants to begin the process that would allow taxing the unstamped cigarettes.
The governor said strict measures are needed to keep things from getting worse.
But that depends on who you ask. Republican Assemblyman Jim Hayes of Amherst said that instead of cuts to schools and again raising taxes, Paterson should get serious about waste and Medicaid fraud.
Right now the state's deficit is expected to soar to nearly $61 billion over the next several years. Paterson is once again pushing for a spending cap.
Hayes said he supports that. And he likes the governor's call for reforms that would temporarily roll back unfunded mandates and give SUNY and CUNY more financial flexibility. Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak agrees Albany needs reform. But, agreeing with Hayes, Gabryszak also has a problem with the proposed new taxes.
But Paterson said without the mix of cuts and new taxes the state will not be able to reign in the budget deficit. Lawmakers must hash out and approve a budget by April 1.