And then you get an e-mail like this, and your faith and energy are instantly renewed.

“Why don’t I give up on Upstate NY? I will tell you why.
When my parents are old, I want to be close enough to check on them and when they can no longer care for themselves I will care for them.
When my children are grown I don’t want them to have to run off to a faraway place just to find a job.
When I have grandchildren I want to see them every day. I want them to ride their bike to my house and I want to teach them things that I have learned from my lifetime of experience.
I would rather make cuts to our school system so that we can cut taxes for businesses so that my children can find a job or create a business of their own without moving away.”

Beautiful sentiment, but it’s the closing line that really got to me.

“If something does not change,’” the writer concludes, “We will be moving away so my children can have a hopeful future.”

That says it all: New York must change if our state, our families and our businesses are to have a hopeful future.

And it is time for our elected officials to finally realize that they need to be on our side, and step away from those who don’t worry about how their greed is ruining our state. It must be about what is good for all of us, the people of the state of New York, and not just the few who are entrenched and unwilling to change.

So how do we bring about that change? By banding together and speaking out on the issues that matter, the issues that will change New York’s future.

In fact, that’s what we did recently. And we were successful in stopping two legislative bills that would have severely hurt Upstate New York – the Farmworker Fair Labor Practice Act and the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). Click here to read Unshackle’s statement .

This is a great achievement, as these were two bills that we adamantly opposed. If enacted, farms that have been in families for generations would have ceased to exist and vital economic development projects would never have been started.

Both bills were passionately argued by both sides of the issue. Fortunately, rational heads prevailed and the bills were defeated.

So what have we learned? We learned that the voice of the Unshackle Upstate Army is being heard and having an impact on legislative activity in Albany.

We can and should celebrate. But we cannot rest. There will be more issues to tackle and bills to oppose. We must remain vigilant.

Together, we will push our elected officials to do what is right for the taxpayers and job creators of this state. Together, we will reform New York, make it the best place to live, work and raise a family, make it a place with a hopeful future, a place we are proud to call home.

Please do your part. Encourage everyone you know to join our effort and strengthen our voice. Our future is at stake.

The increasing interactions on Facebook is simply inspiring. We’ve been reading and responding to your posts and one thing is clear – you’re fired up about our government’s shameful ways. And rightfully so. Families and businesses are being crushed with sky high taxes while state leaders continue to spend money they simply don’t have. That’s what why we launched our Judgment Day campaign in February.   Rather than endlessly screaming about what is wrong in Albany, we’re actually doing something about it!

Unshackle Upstate is currently fighting against the following 2010-11 budgetary provisions:

• 2010-11 Executive Budget (Spending) – the 2010-11 state budget proposal is $134 billion; that’s an increase of 12 percent in two years.
• The 3-percent severance tax on natural gas from Marcellus or Utica Shale. (S6610 / A9710 – Part A).
• Establishment of a circuit breaker tax credit and a state spending cap, versus a property tax cap, at 2.5 percent. (S6610 /A9710 – Part Q).
• Forcing non-union home-based childcare providers to pay union dues. (S.6607/A.9707 – Part DD).
• Proposed Increase in Local Utility Taxes (GRT) (S6606/A9706 – Part HH).
• Excessive health care taxes, fees and assessments (S.6608/A.9708 – Part B, C, D).
• Continuation of the Waste Tire Management Fee, which was scheduled to sunset on December 31, 2010. (S6609 / A9709 – Part DD).

We also support the reduction of overall state spending and the repeal of onerous budget provisions enacted last year such as:

• A license plate fee increase of $10.
• The utility surcharge (Section 18) which raised fees from one-third of a percent to two percent for most taxpayers.

Unshackle Upstate is  putting legislators on notice that these are the items in the budget that we oppose.  Any legislator that votes for a budget with these items will be judged accordingly through the Judgment Day Scorecard.  We’re advocating at the Capitol for the immediate removal of these anti-taxpayer items.  Our hope is that these Judgment Day Scorecards will serve as a invaluable tool when it comes time for you to cast your ballot in November. That’s what the Judgment Day campaign is all about – educating and empowering voters across New York to make the best decision  possible on November 2.

But our work is not done. We need the Unshackle Army to continue to grow and we need your help to make it happen. Please continue to tell your friends, families and coworkers about our efforts. Our impact in the halls of the Capital grows with every new voice we have on our side. We’re very thankful for your continued support – without it, none of this would be possible.

Judgment Day is less than seven months away!  Let’s keep this amazing momentum going and fight for change in Albany!

Last week, the Legislature – just returned from a 10-day Passover-Easter break – made little progress toward the 2010-11 state budget, which by law was supposed to be enacted April 1.

Gov. Paterson said that he is preparing new “bare bones” budget extenders to be taken up by the Legislature this week. Both legislative leaders told reporters that while no budget deal is imminent, the budget could be finalized before the end of the month.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the governor announced that the emergency spending bills he is preparing will not include the money for the 4-percent raises some 100,000 state employees are due. Paterson has already excluded state funding on hundreds of construction projects, delayed $2.1 billion in school aid, delayed income tax refunds and aid to nonprofit groups, and keeping parks closed to help the state pay its bills.

The Public Employees Federation (PEF) and the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) threatened legal action, saying that the Governor’s action violates their respective contracts.

Adding fuel to the budget fire:
• State Comptroller DiNapoli’s report which found that New York State has masked budget deficits and spending growth for more than a decade by shuffling money between accounts, off-loading operational spending to dedicated funds and borrowing.
He said the most common practices used to obtain apparent fiscal balance in a given budget year are “fund sweeps” (which he calls “the fiscal equivalent of robbing Peter to pay Paul”), off-loading general fund spending to hide spending growth, misusing temporary loans and borrowing.

• In a letter dated Mar. 31, federal officials threatened to withhold millions of dollars in state funding if the Paterson administration moves forward with its plan to close parks around the state. National Parks Service (NPS) Northeast Regional Director Dennis Reidenbach wrote that the closure plan could put New York in “non-compliance” with the requirements for taking funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Federal Land for Parks Program. The letter said that NPS could also initiate suspension and debarment procedures to have all Federal funds withheld from the State (including housing, transportation, education etc

• On Wednesday, Senate Democrats released a budget reform package, sponsored by Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), which provides for long-term financial planning, the use of stricter accounting principles, and mandating stringent standards of accountability for State-financed programs and services.

The plan would establish a two-year budget process; require the use of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP); create a non-partisan Legislative Budget Office (LBO); shift the start of the State’s fiscal year from April 1 to June 1; sunset all tax breaks after 5 years; require a cost-benefit analysis of all of the State’s tax breaks; and create a 15-member Empire State Performance Commission “to design a performance based management and budgeting blueprint to streamline government and end waste and fraud.”

• Senate Republicans criticized the Democrats for failing to follow the 2007 budget reform law – which requires the Legislature to hold public budget conference committees – and said that they should show they can follow the current law before enacting new ones.

Unshackle Upstate will be keeping tabs on the budget debate – and how it will affect you. We’re fighting to lower your taxes, create jobs, and improve New York’s failing economy. You can help by signing on to our cause, and learning more. To get the latest news, join the Unshackle Army, follow us Facebook and Twitter, check out our YouTube channel and watch this blog.

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.