LUCINSKI: Get ready for the fight of our lives

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November 12, 2008

Anonymous The Tonawanda News Wed Nov 12, 2008, 12:58 AM EST

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.

The battle will be a virtual steel cage match involving the state and a number of local governments and school districts, advocacy groups and unions representing public employees. The fight, as you might guess, will be over money.

As we know, in New York, there simply isn’t enough of it to go around. Fiscal conservatives will argue that there’s enough money; we’ve just been spending too much for years and years. Either way, the battle promises to be fierce.

Next week is significant because that’s when the governor has called the state Legislature back into session to deal with the mess. Gov. David Paterson says as much as $2 billion needs to be chopped from the budget and even more pain is projected for the following year.

It didn’t have to be this way. Wise lawmakers years ago could have seen that the then-Empire State was spending beyond its means. But instead of trimming its spending or at least holding the line, the legislators, in their lack of wisdom, kept the cash going out as fast as it came in.

They found the formula for longevity in Albany: Confiscate the citizens’ own money through taxation and redirect it to programs for which the senators and assemblymen or women could take credit. That way they could essentially buy the voters’ support with their own cash. Cever, huh?

But the scheme breaks down when the going gets tough. Wall Street activity generates about 20 percent of the state’s tax revenue. With the financial sector suffering and the rest of the economy ailing, it’s unclear how much of the state budget on the income side will be affected. The consensus is, however, that’s it’s going to be a lot.

So this is the part of being a lawmaker that isn’t fun. It looks like they will actually have to tell people “no.” They’re not used to that. So here’s a suggestion that might make it a little easier:

Instead of whacking here and there in an effort to cut spending for just a year, use this crisis as an opportunity. Reinvent state government; at least, begin the process.

Take a look at everything. Come to the realization that Albany cannot be all things to all New Yorkers. Strip away the things that are nice and leave the things that are necessary. That won’t be easy. But at least when the legislators tell somebody “no,” they can use the cover that it’s part of a statewide reorganization, not just a random swinging of the budget ax.

Then, when Wall Street and the economy recover, we will be left with a leaner, more efficient and responsible state government. Will it happen? It’s unlikely.

It would mean lawmakers would have to act like responsible adults. Why should they? In last week’s election, you sent back to Albany every legislator who wanted to return. In Western New York, all assemblymen and women and senators who ran for re-election, won. They’ve discovered the secret to eternal job security. They’re not about to give that up.

There’s a little rhyme that sums up the attitude of special interests in times like these: “Don’t cut you, don’t cut me. Cut the man behind the tree.” In other words, leave my stuff alone and reduce funding for others.

So hold onto your wallet and hang on tight. This is going to be one wild ride.

Dick Lucinski is the managing editor of the Niagara Gazette.

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