Can you live without it? That’s a question that’s being asked a lot these days, not just over the backyard fence among friends and family but at various levels of government as well.
On the personal level, the slowing economy, rising inflation (although fuel prices are finally coming down) and the shakiness on Wall Street has given many of us pause to examine where we can cut corners and save here and there. Do we really watch those premium television channels we pay for? Do we really need to go out to dinner three times a week? Do we really need that lawn maintenance service when the mower is sitting idle in the garage? Does Jimmy or Julie really get anything our of those martial arts lessons?
Some of those answers are yes, some are no. But the fact that we’re asking those questions more and more is a sign of the times and, frankly, a good sign.
As a professional cheapskate, our family doesn’t have to bring up those issues; we’ve been asking those tough questions for 35 years. Consequently, there are not a lot of savings to be made that haven’t already been realized.
But for families all across the Niagara Falls area, the financial collar is tightening just a little more and, if economizing hadn’t already been a way of life, it’s moving in that direction. Some might say it should have been all along.
It’s a similar situation on the government level, especially when it comes to local and state officials. A lot of it stems from Albany. Gov. David Paterson had been warning of a state budget shortfall in the billions of dollars. That was before things went south in the financial markets.
Now, because of the oft-cited statistic that 20 percent of New York’s revenue is generated through taxes on Wall Street activity, those deficits are expected to balloon into even more billions. That kind of talk has local officials quietly very worried.
Municipalities and school districts in upstate New York have been more or less wards of the state for decades now, becoming increasingly reliant on the scraps that fall from Albany’s table to balance their budgets. That state aid also keeps the property tax rates, while high, at least at a level where the citizenry stops short of attacking local officials with torches and pitchforks.
But now that all the talk from the state capitol is deficits, deficits, deficits and cuts, cuts, cuts, the locals are getting nervous about how much of that fallout will affect them.
The governor says the state budget gap could reach $12.5 billion in 2010. And, in case you’ve been asleep and still think that 2010 seems like a long ways away: It’s already 2008.
Dick Lucinski is the managing editor of the Niagara Gazette.
Dick Lucinski
Related Photos
November 5, 2008
LUCINSKI: The fine art of doing without
- Dick Lucinski
-
-
LUCINSKI: Political pendulum swings left
There’s a story that went around Washington back in the early 1960s that President John F. Kennedy, shortly after his swearing in, was sitting in the Oval Office with brother Bobby.
-
LUCINSKI: Ready to ring in the new year
Happy New Year! Well, OK. We’re jumping the gun, but only by a few hours.
-
LUCINSKI: Editing out the ‘air quotes’
“Saturday Night Live” is the funniest television show in the history of broadcasting. This is the Opinions page and that’s my opinion and I’m sticking with it.
-
LUCINSKI: Toronto game was a sell out
Sold out. That could technically describe the house at Toronto’s Rogers Centre on Sunday.
-
LUCINSKI: Worst and best of Christmas music
Now that we’re safely past Thanksgiving, it’s OK to jump feet first into the Christmas spirit. Not that the traditional Thanksgiving starting point seems to matter much anymore.
-
LUCINSKI: Get ready for the fight of our lives
If you like to watch a good fight, get the popcorn and the soda ready and reserve a ringside seat. As of next week, it’s going to be a doozy.
-
LUCINSKI: The fine art of doing without
Can you live without it? That’s a question that’s being asked a lot these days, not just over the backyard fence among friends and family but at various levels of government as well.
-
LUCINSKI: Informercials: A video art form
It was another Saturday night without much to do. Seven p.m. on a Saturday evening is something of a dead zone when it comes to TV.
- LUCINSKI: It is time to adjust your (mind)set By the time this makes it into print, the Time Warner/Channels 4 and 23 dispute could be settled. Then again, few expected it to drag out this long.
-
LUCINSKI: A sunny son of local TV
Usually we have to leave this world in order for people to say nice things about us. That’s all well and good, except for one problem: We’re not around to hear them. Oh, we’re there, lying in eternal repose. But by that time our hearing is none too good.
- More Dick Lucinski Headlines
-
FAMU Bandmates: Victim Volunteered to Be Hazed
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
Raw Video: Tornado Appears During Wedding
HP to Cut 27,000 Jobs, Save Up to $3.5B
Inquiry Hears Wider Secret Service Misbehavior
Md. 911 Dispatcher Caught Sleeping on Job
Raw Video: Toddler Trapped in Washing Machine
Iowa Man With Zebra, Parrot in Truck Gets DUI
Egyptians Pick New President in Free Election
Giant Bull Head Draws Drivers to South Dakota
Astrodome Fades As Houston Decides Fate
Franciscan Files Tell Stories of Priest Abuse
Wildfire Destroys 2 Homes
Flight Diverted After Suspicious Note
Joplin Remembers Deadly Tornado, 1 Year Later
Panel Recommends Against Routine Prostate Test
Fired Lingerie Employee Claims Discrimination
Facebook Shares Continue Negative Slide
Cuba Waiting for Cyber Age to Come
8 Hurt in Oklahoma Shooting After NBA Playoff
