Sheldon Silver OutFoxes Cuomo And Sticks Cuomo With The Future Blame For Revenue Shortfalls And Default/Bankruptcy

  
New York's budget is a fool's delight.

   The Cuomo Budget process and its Committees and teams were all a big farce, because Cuomo operatives prepared the outcomes and the committees were left with a rubber stamp. "Add Common Cause to the list of organizations unhappy with the about-to-be-completed 2011-12 budget. Rather than the cuts, they are upset about the level of secrecy involved in crafting the spending plan, which appears to be a replay of the time-tested “three men in a (closed door) room” method.
      "Localities were quick to knock the first report ... from Mandate Relief Redesign Team, saying it falls short of the reforms needed. ...Gov. Andrew Cuomo ... is seeking to cap the growth in property taxes to 2 percent a year. Governments and schools said they would be hard-pressed to abide by the cap without having some state requirements removed."   "What irked some on the 23-member panel was that while they had discussions with Cuomo's staff about the final version of the report, they only saw it minutes before it was released publicly."  Suffolk County's Steve Levy said Cuomo's team report was 78 pages of nothing.

        This was a temporary victory for Cuomo, but disaster is ahead, because the revenue side of the budget is a farce.   "The new governor holds the commanding heights,” said Robert B. Ward, deputy director of the Rockefeller Institute, a research center. “The role for the Legislature often is to wait out a governor — and certainly the speaker has proven he’s a master of that."    Was Assembly Speaker Sheldon a sly fox who knew Cuomo now had responsibility for the budget and the phony revenue predictions?   "Mr. Silver [had]explained, it would be the widely reviled Legislature — not the popular governor — that would be blamed [if a budget wasn't passed]."   Didn't Silver responsibly want more taxes?

     Local schools are announcing layoffs in response to budget cuts.  A sample of schools follow.
Beekmantown School layoffs
Saranac Central School District has no reserves and layoffs needed
Ausable Central School district has low reserves and layoffs will be needed
Cohoes City school district proposes layoffs
       And these unemployed workers won't pay State income taxes (reduces Income Tax revenues) and also drains State coffers (unbudgeted expenditures for benefits), because NY State can't borrow its share of unemployment expenses from the federal government as it did in 2010. Worse still many local districts have to layoff more workers because they don't save the entire cost of wages paid, because many must still pay the full cost of unemployment benefits, because they use the benefit reimbursement plan instead of making regular unemployment contributions (in other words, they paid nothing until a worker is laid off and then they pay the full benefits)
"The Benefit Reimbursement program lets employers reimburse the Unemployment Insurance Fund for benefits paid to their former employees in place of paying on a tax rated basis.  The following groups that are tax exempt under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code qualify for this option:    Nonprofit organizations organized and run only for:  religious, charitable, scientific,  literary or educational purposes and Government entities."
This same unemployment benefit (unbudgeted expenditure) payment will affect any New York State layoffs Cuomo plans, because the promised savings will have to be reduced by the full cost of all unemployment benefits paid.

   And NY Counties will follow with more layoffs because of Cuomo's pass down of a 9.4% increase in Medicaid County expense which is the largest expenditure for Counties and the failure of his Mandate Relief Team.   Things get worse because a Pension Tsunami is going to hit California and New York.  New York State has an absurd assumption that it earns 7.5% on its pension funds when the real rate was 1.1% for the past five years.     This will effect New York's credit rating and lending rates.

Meanwhile, as inflation threatens and gas and fuel prices rise 100%,  will Cuomo get more money by borrowing when New York is all ready the most indebted per person with $97,000 for a family of four?

The US Treasury can run out of cash, as can a State.

The Clever Fox Award goes to Sheldon Silver and the booby prize to?

New York's Budget Is Now Cuomo's Budget And Default His Responsibility

     Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos laugh and smile as they pass Cuomo's budget.   Now, Andrew Cuomo owns the New York State budget.  He can't blame the legislators for passing his budget.  So, who will Cuomo blame when the revenue fails to come in and the massive borrowing begins?

     Now, there is Joy in Albany as Andrew Cuomo passes his budget and Cuomo comes to bat.  But, all the flaws reported in this blog in Cuomo's Executive budget are still there.  Most importantly, New York will run out of cash because of
1.  fantasy revenue predictions. 
2.  $3.6 billion in required spending is missing from the budget . 
3.  Cuomo's hidden taxes on business will discourage new business in New York. 
4.  Cuomo has ignored the pending suit to increase judges pay and its additonal cost to the State.  
5.  Counties and Cities will have to raise taxes to pay their 9.4% increase in Medicaid costs which is the largest expense in their budgets?

But, Hope as Cuomo comes to bat:

Then from 5 million throats and more there rose a lusty yell;

It rumbled through the Hudson valley, it rattled in the Albany dell;

It knocked upon the Adirondack mountains and recoiled throughout the State,

For Cuomo, mighty Cuomo, was advancing with his budget's plate.

There was ease in Cuomo's manner as he pranced into his place;

There was pride in Cuomo's bearing and a smile on Cuomo's face.

And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,

No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Cuomo at the bat.

Ten million eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands in Albany's dirt;

Five million tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.

Then while the writhing tort lawyer ground the ball into his hip,

Defiance gleamed in Cuomo's eye, a sneer curled Cuomo's lip.

And now the cap on medical malpractice sphere came hurtling through the air,

And Cuomo stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.

Close by the sturdy batsman the malpractice cap unheeded sped-

"That ain't my style," said Cuomo. "Strike one," the doctors said.

From the crowds, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,

Like the beating of the storm-waves upon Long Island's shore.

"Kill them! Kill the lawyers!" shouted someone in the band;

And it's likely they'd a-killed them had not Cuomo raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Cuomo's visage shone;

He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the budget farce go on;

He signaled to the mandate relief pitcher, and the mandate relief spheroid flew;

But Cuomo still ignored it, and  Steve Levy said, "Strike two."

"Fraud!" cried the maddened millions, and the echos answered fraud;

But one scornful look from Cuomo and the People were awed.

They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,

And they hoped that Cuomo wouldn't let a ball go by again.

The sneer is gone from Cuomo's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;

He pounds with cruel violence his silver spoon upon his plate.

And now the Chinese Debt Master holds the ball, and now he lets it go,

And now the air is shattered by the force of Cuomo's blow.

Oh, somewhere in our favored land the sun is shining bright;

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;

But there is default in Albany — mighty Cuomo has struck out.

Would you buy NY Bonds knowing?

New York State Debt per person including local debt is $24,195.  For a family of four that is about $97,000. That is the highest in the USA.  And surprise, Cuomo's budget revenue predictions were a farce.

The Tale of 2 Cuomo TARPS Ends, Sequels Begin

Abraham Lincoln, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."

The Tale of 2 Cuomo TARPS final comedy act ended copycat from "the sheriff raids the whorehouse," yesterday 4/22/2010, as Eric Holder's boss said he is seeking to up the number of deputies overseeing the action. Sadly many in the audience didn't see the earlier scene where the scoundrel (Madam) and Sheriff Holder's boss discussed the whole performance at least four times and Holder's boss failed to throw"the filthy lucre of a million dollars" back to the scoundrels.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/22/goldman-boss-visited-white-house-firm-tangled-sec-potential-fraud-case/?test=latestnews


http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/Obama-should-return-Wall-Street_s-money-91850159.html

At the same time, the Cuomo as sheriff act with Senator Espada became tangled and continued around the corner, following Shakespeare's, "what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive".

Steve Levy said concerning Cuomo as sheriff, “But it is interesting that even with Mr. Monserrate, who has been dumped out of the Senate, you know, there are a lot of other senators and assemblymen who have done some pretty shaky things.” and “And there seems to be some selective enforcement regarding where they come down on this – not to say that what those other gentlemen did or alleged to have done was good stuff.”

http://capitaltonight.com/category/cuomo/

Please, Mr. Cuomo, you can't fool all of us.









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