Guest Blog by: R.W. Ball

Did you know that NYS will borrow up to $2B from taxpayers over
the next 3 years through tax credit deferrals included in the
revenue package?

No, I did not know.

As bankrupt as NY is, that should disqualify borrowing. A debt buyer should recognize that the full faith and credit of NY taxpayers is exhausted. Similarly
Federal aid, transferred borrowing, is exhausted.

Borrowing is an admission from our representatives of failure. There is
no acceptable excuse. The results should be critical bills, an on-time budget for example, passed and signed.

Bills of inconsequence, use of handheld cell phones for example, are not
results. Times at bat, number of swings, not even the number of triples
count. These are failures and not results. Sponsoring a bill without
reasonable probability of passage in the current session, or without
intent to aggressively pursue passage and signature, is not a result.
Knowing an incumbent’s positions is nice, but only results count for reelection.

Sending an incumbent who failed back to Albany is senseless. A person
who withdraws from responsibility using any excuse to intentionally not
vote is a fool. Voting ‘for’ based on a belief that an incumbent, a senior,
has more power is fallacious. Not one incumbent has succeeded in
ousting any of the dysfunctional legislative leaders. Bringing home the
bacon is not a consideration. We are suppressing or have lost our taste
for bacon which fattens our taxes. Sharing any bacon (which we would
borrow) by power and tit for tat is poor method.

Our NY government as presently structured and constituted is not
representative. Incumbents do not represent us. You and I are
responsible for choosing who will represent us. Our representatives are
accountable to you and me, when done accountable to us only. The
failures of our chosen representatives are our own. It’s time we get it
right, to make our best effort, to choose differently, somebody, anybody,
even one untried. Any mistakes we make may be corrected in short
time. Let’s vote without fear for new representatives and not
incumbents.

Guest Blog by: C. Ulanowski

New York residents must realize that actions speaks louder than words. We often complain about how dysfunctional the NYS government is, and how we as taxpayers face economic distress, because of inaction by Albany on real problem solving.  However, we as residents and taxpayers, have a long tradition of accepting the status quo and returning incumbents to office by not individually engaging our elected leaders.  We are divergent in our beliefs and opinions.  There is a solid agreement that the current system no longer works.  Special interests have won the day by surpassing the role of the electorate. Leaders and their minions are easily led astray by the power of money.  We must act individually and also look for common ground with our friends, relatives and neighbors to demand reforms that remove the influence of money on our government system.

There is a funny thing that happens in Albany around budget time.  There are pieces of legislation that are hiding in the bushes that end up being a tax on you and I.  Some taxes are in your face, while others get to you in a more circuitous route.  And just remember, that even though you can’t see or directly touch a “tax”, there are many of them out there.

Take for example some of the bills that are being considered this week:

Solar Renewable Energy Credits (S.7903-B Thompson/A.11004-A Englebright)

(http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S7093B)

Telecom Merger Bill (S.7263 Foley/A.2208-C Brodsky)

(http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/api/1.0/html/bill/S7263)

Limitations on Greenhouse Gas Emissions (S.4315-C Thompson/A.7572 Sweeney)

(http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S4315C)

Now, while some of them may seem like good things, the reality is that they are hidden taxes.  And those hidden taxes will ultimately find their way into our pocketbooks through increased rates for electric, gas and telecommunication services.  Yet, we will hear from the elected officials that the effected company shouldn’t have to pass on those increases to the end user.  That’s hogwash.  Many of the companies that we get our utilities through are either publicly traded and have a responsibility to their shareholders or they are for-profit companies that need to make money to grow and invest in new technology as our demands grow.

Think back to last year.  In the budget bomb of 2009, where we got hit with more than $8 billion in new taxes and fees, there were some clearly in your face increases.  Things like a car registration rate hike, a fishing license increase, and the all too obvious personal income tax increase.  But there were lots of hidden ones.  Take for instance the more than $700 million in changes to healthcare reimbursement rate cuts and increases to carriers.  Now, none of those were directed at you and me.  But guess what?  Nearly every single one of us saw an increase in the rate we pay for our health insurance coverage.  That is a hidden tax.  And then there was the $525 million dollar increase in the 18-A assessment which taxes energy.  Yes, you guessed it.  That is also a hidden tax and many have seen the cost to heat and cool your home and business rise in the past few months.

So as this budget gets finalized, keep in mind the difference between an obvious tax and a hidden tax.  Unshackle Upstate is keeping track of all the taxes and will share them with you.  And when you go to the polls on November 2, remember all of those Senators and Assembly members that voted to pass on taxes to you.  And if your elected officials voted to hit you with more taxes and fees, then you hit back with a no vote for them returning to the Capitol to represent you.  It is time we take responsibility for our votes and make each and every elected official accountable for their actions.

This week, I’ve been pretty busy once again traveling around NYS to get our message out. But I didn’t forget about my blog post. Actually, I wanted to write this one specifically for our active Facebook fans, who have been writing some great, insightful comments not just this week, but consistently over the past few months as we’ve been trying to ramp up the campaign.

Unshackle Upstate doesn’t work on behalf of ourselves  as an organization, or our own thoughts and ideals, but rather is about listening to and echoing the thoughts and concerns of YOU, the taxpayer. So I wanted to personally respond to some of the comments I’ve been seeing from all of you on the Unshackle Upstate Facebook page. I’ve noticed that a lot of people are echoing others in their concerns, so I’ve picked out a few comments to respond to, based on topics that come up over and over again on our page, and some specific things that have happened this week. I’m responding to a few key issues today, and I’ll do this again from time to time.

“NYS Government has to reduce the workforce. There are way too many people on the payroll. In these troubled times we all have to do more with less.” – Gary M Baker; Facebook

Clearly, the leadership of this state is not listening.  We continue to talk about ways to lower state spending and the burden it places on all of us.  Yet this week we hear that the Governor is proposing that day care providers be forced to join the United Federation of Teachers.  No disrespect to the workers, but come on.  The only thing this will do is run up the cost of daycare for private pay and drive up the reimbursement rate within the social service programs.  So on one hand we won’t be able to afford the increase and on the other our taxes will go up to cover Medicaid rates.  That’s not leadership, that’s pandering.  And any elected official that supports that component of the Governor’s proposed budget doesn’t deserve our support.

“Oh Yeah… Let’s start the new fiscal year with a fresh round of additional debt for our grandchildren. Absolutely no mention of seriously attacking the poor management practices that led to the massive shortfall.”- David Hammond; Facebook

If it isn’t taxes and health insurance that drives us over the edge, it is energy.  So now we have a great chance to actually lower our rates for natural gas…oh, and create hundreds of jobs…yet once again that won’t happen.  Why?  Because the state can’t agree on regulations related to hydro fracture drilling (a proven technique used in PA).  So the gas sits in the ground while we contemplate what to do.  But even if we got that figured out, in the budget there is a new Severance Tax.  That is a tax applied to “severing gas from the ground” making it more costly to extract the gas.  So let’s be clear…we can’t agree on how to get the gas out of the ground and yet we are going to tax an industry before it even develops.  Great planning there.

“How about eliminating state pensions for all elected officials…it might encourage more citizen legislators and turnover in state office holders. Financial term limits.” – Bruce Anderson; Facebook

How can we reduce pension issues and at the same time get our elected to work harder for us?  Well, there might be a way to do that.  Assemblyman Mike Fitzpatrick has introduced a bill to change an elected officials pension from being a defined benefit, or DB plan (one that is backed by you, the taxpayer) to a defined contribution plan, or DC (like the 401K the private sector uses).  Not a bad idea.  That way we at least eliminate the potential for a Conflict of Interest when dealing with the pension system and our ability to get it lowered.  In fact, we pushed for a DC plan like they have at SUNY/CUNY to be in the recently passed Tier 5.  Perhaps Unshackle Upstate will have to push this bill a bit harder.