Its lonely at the top

.... and its getting lonelier for NY Gov. David Paterson. Amid sagging poll numbers and fund-raising woes his top campaign strategist jumped ship after less than a year on the job. Longtime Democratic operative, Tracy Sefl said in a short resignation statement that she was leaving as a "business decision" and declined to elaborate further.


She went on to say:

"I remain supportive and admiring of Paterson and his agenda for the state."

Asked by CNN if she left Patterson's campaign because his chances at getting elected this fall are low, Tracy Sefl said "That is a good question to ask others."

With friends like that who needs enemy's?

Its not that she decided to resign. Every one is free to follow there own "business decisions", its the timing that matters most to me.

To say Gov. Paterson's was having a bad political week is probably the understatement of the year. After releasing his budget, earlier in the week Patterson has found himself under fire from everyone from top Union Boss's to little old ladies.

In the back drop, polls continue to indicate Attorney General Andrew Cuomo would eat his lunch in a potential Democratic primary match-up. Even Erie County Executive Chris Collins polls dead even with him

"Clearly the appearance is that you've got high-level folks abandoning ship"
Baruch College's Doug Muzzio

Its enough to make you feel sorry for the guy.

The Health Care plan that never was?

After the election of Republican Scott Brown to the Massachusetts Senate seat long held by Edward M. Kennedy, Democratic leaders are scrambling to find options to get the much touted health care Bill to the presidents desk.

I dont know if the election of Scott Brown was a referendum on the health care Bill but I do know things just got tougher for it's chances

Brown's victory restored the GOP's power to block bills with Senate filibusters. When Brown is sworn in, Democrats will control 59 of the Senate's 100 seats. They need 60 to block GOP filibusters. As it stands now House leaders said they could not pass a Senate-approved bill because of objections from liberals and moderates alike.

Democrat leaders are putting on a brave face with the President quoted as saying, " let's let the dust settle before rushing forward on a health care bill" chiming in , Speaker Nancy Pelosi said , “we’re not in a big rush. It is prudent to pause and reflect upon what our possibilities are.”

Ummm ya.

Truth is they are scared. There is some much stuff intertwined in the Bill its almost impossible to appease one side buy removing something because it affects something the other side wants.

A lot of high handed people have been offended during this process and bringing them back to the table now will be a monumental task

The House Republican leader, Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, said Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Obama were ignoring the message of the Massachusetts election. “They are still scheming and scrambling to find a way to pass their government takeover of health care,” Mr. Boehner said. And he warned, “If they jam it through, I think they are going to face a firestorm from the American public.”

Good luck with that.

D.O.A. ?

State legislators are joining forces with unions, hospitals, soft- drink bottlers, environmentalists and prison guards to just say no to Gov. David A. Paterson budget proposal.


Strange Bedfellows

Business groups, including Unshackle Upstate, called Paterson's tax package unacceptable. Unions are accusing the governor of balancing the budget on the backs of the poor and schoolchildren.

While Paterson's budget has a heavier reliance on spending cuts than tax hikes, and it limits some fiscal gimmicks. The proposed budget falls short of appeasing ether side.

There are some cuts, but he couldn't resist the new revenue streams, expanded sales of alcohol, an increased reliance on gambling, tax on sugary drinks and of course the old stand by, beating up on cigarette smokers.

My Take

With New York State facing a $7.4 billion budget gap this is the perfect time for the Governor to decide on a direction. Simply put, the scatter shot approach of "some for you, some for you", just isn't going to cut it anymore.

He needs to focus on fixing the long term problems by taking the state in a new direction A good start would be fixing some of the arcane laws that make doing business in NY state so high. Fixing the onerous government union contracts and focusing more on upstate.

Everyone in NY state government is hoping that all this will just go away and they can get back to business as usual.

My hope is that doesn't happen and our leaders will finally be forced to lead.

The bad news keeps coming

Gov Paterson released the proposed 2010 budget Tuesday night and the news was as grim as expected. Schools are going to take a 1.1 billion dollar hit that works out to a 5 percent reduction in state aid.

Higher taxes and fees…… Nothing seems to be unscathed.

Topping the list behind schools of those getting less is hospitals and nursing homes that are in line for steep cuts.

All you people that cheer sin taxes on cigarettes will be happy to know there is also a $1 per pack cigarette tax increase. Not sure how the righteous will feel about the penny an ounce sugary beverage and soda tax though. My thinking is you get what you deserve.

On top of that the budget calls for closing prisons.

Ya its gotten that bad. The budget calls for closing close Lyon Mountain in Clinton County and Butler in Wayne County, in January 2011, followed in April 2011 by Moriah shock facility in Essex County and Ogdensburg medium security prison in St. Lawrence County.

Everyone knew this was coming and the comedy meter will be running at a fever pitch in Albany over the next few days as everyone blames everyone else and the finger pointing and running for cover begins.

The funny thing is even with all the draconian fees and cuts the budget will still grow.

Although, there are some things in the budget that will make some folks happy. Buried deep in the cuts is a plan to increase aid for free Metrocards for students. If you like ultimate fighting the budget calls for legalizing mixed martial arts in New York. Additionally, if your gay the budget plan allows same-sex couples married in other jurisdictions to file joint state tax returns with spousal exemptions. That is if your gay and your not a NY state resident.

The usual money grab is made by eliminating a restriction on daily operating hours for the Lottery's Quick Draw game and video lottery terminals. So hey, if u have a gambling problem you just have to feed at 3 AM NY is here for you.

The conservative press is already trumpeting this as good move. They couldn’t be more wrong.

I have long thought this budget crises was a way to fix what is wrong with NY. Instead we get more of the same Albany insanity. Tax bad habits, throw a fig to our liberal base, and try to make more money off bad habits.

Here is a crazy though governor, instead of playing lip service to change lets start seeing some real change.

Change the way New York State does business.

In the end its our money your spending and your doing a pretty piss poor job of it

Albany still cant get it right

In a move most would describe as cutting off its nose to spite its face, the NY Legislature refused to act on a bill Gov. David Paterson said is needed for the state to have a chance at $700 million in federal school aid.

The Democratic-led legislature, with heavy backing from (you guessed it) the teachers' unions, is behind a law they want passed instead that will curb the growth of charter schools and not meet the threshold for the max amount in Federal school aide.



Tuesday is the deadline for states to submit initial bids for a chunk of the $4.35 billion that is up for grabs under the Obama administration's "Race to the Top" competition, which is intended to coax policy concessions such as opening charter schools and getting approval of merit-pay systems through stubborn legislatures. The Education Department will distribute $4.35 billion among states that apply.

Big states such as New York can potentially get $350 million to $700 million. States will be awarded points based on what the department views as positive changes within a given state's school system. The more points a state can earn, the better its chance of winning the funds. The federal guidelines for the funding application say states would win "high points" if the state has no charter-school cap or a cap that is equal to at least 10% of the state's schools.

Late Monday, New York Governor David A. Paterson and lawmakers were negotiating a compromise to salvage the state's application for the first phase of the contest. Although it is seen as unlikely that Albany leaders will strike a compromise by the deadline, it is expected that New York will submit a bid either way.

Legislative leaders have proposed doubling the statewide cap on charters to 400, about 50 less than needed to get the maximum score under the "Race to the Top" point system. In yet another bow to the Teachers Unions, lawmakers also want to limit approval power to the Board of Regents, which sets education policy and is appointed largely at the direction of Assembly Democrats. The play is an attempt to sharply limit the current role of SUNY in favor of the Democrat controlled Board of regents. Under their plan, the board would also determine the size and location of future schools.

The bill would also ban for-profit companies from partnering with charter schools, open the schools up to state comptroller audits, enact new state oversight of the lottery process for students to get into the schools, and require new enrollment and retention targets for certain students, such as those learning English and disabled students.

Haven't we all had enough with the unions and Albany playing politics with our schools?

End of the freebies?

Following a Newsday plan launched in February 2009 to begin charging online readers for access to its content reports are surfacing that the New York Times is getting ready to charge readers for access to the newspaper's online content.

According to a report in New York magazine that cited sources close to the newsroom the newspaper is expected to announce in coming weeks that it will institute a metered pay plan in which readers will have access to a limited number of free articles before being invited to subscribe.

A spokeswoman for the newspaper said: "We'll announce a decision when we believe that we have crafted the best possible business approach. No details till then."

It seems the days of the, "all free internet" are coming to a close.

Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation, plans to introduce charging for all the company's newspaper websites, including The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and News of the World. Last week, The Standard-Times, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, became the first News Corp-owned local newspaper to charge for online content.

Times Online, the newspaper website of The Times, is expected to introduce a pay wall within the next few months.