OUR VIEW: New York once again in a hole

Editorials

December 23, 2009

Anonymous The Tonawanda News Wed Dec 23, 2009, 12:10 AM EST

Well, surprise, surprise, New York, along with many other states, used federal stimulus cash to plug school district budget deficits.

Now, with the cash going away in 2011-2012, people like state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli are saying taxes could rise in New York and other states as school districts look to raise the necessary cash to keep the same number employed and make the same programs available.

While many states made the same bad decision to use temporary cash to Band-Aid a long-term problem, we’ll focus on good ol’ New York.

New York already has budget troubles, as we all know; now many districts will be faced with the same tough decisions they always had but decided to put off with the temporary cash.

So, the decision will be to either cut costs that have driven up expenses or raise the funds by raising taxes. Neither are great ideas. But they are the only options.

New York would have never been in this situation if the districts would have plugged the deficit with real cash that comes back each year as opposed to stimulus dollars or made the tough and necessary cuts to the budget.

Text Only

Editorials

OUR VIEW: Time is up for SPCA board
This is no time for subtleties or polite requests.

February 7, 2012
OUR VIEW: Now who’s waging class warfare?
It was absurd for Republicans to cast President Obama’s call for a slightly higher income tax rate on the wealthiest Americans as class warfare.

February 3, 2012
OUR VIEW: SPCA off to good start
We were pleased to see members of the SPCA of Niagara’s board of directors take swift action and fire Executive Director John Faso on Monday.

February 1, 2012
Progress on marina, new funds, laudable
City leaders deserve praise — praise we’re pleased to deliver after years of criticism — for finally cementing a plan for redeveloping the city marina on River Road, a property that has sadly fallen into disrepair following to years of false-starts and faltering leadership.

January 27, 2012
OUR VIEW: In address, Obama focused on the practical
We were pleased to see President Obama mark a return to focusing the government on simple, achievable goals to help create jobs and bolster the nation’s economy.

January 26, 2012
OUR VIEW: Romney’s wealth shines spotlight on tax equity
Though it may not prove politically expedient for Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, his decision to release his 2010 and anticipated 2011 tax returns will have at least one benefit, even if it wasn’t intended:

January 24, 2012
OUR VIEW: Cuomo pension plan makes sense
Cuomo proposed adding a 401(k) tier to the state’s pension plan. We’ll forgive workers in the private sector where plans of this nature are the accepted norm if they wonder why this would even be controversial.

January 18, 2012
OUR VIEW: Cuomo's plans are praiseworthy
In the annual state of the state address, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was long on big promises that will be a boon to New York’s government, business and education infrastructure. But as every New Yorker — particularly ones in this neck of the woods — knows, talk is cheap.

January 7, 2012
OUR VIEW: Do something about the SPCA
Although the dust still has to settle around the horrific complaints by a former employee of the Niagara County SPCA and others, we were discouraged to learn that the animal shelter is still struggling with a lack of leadership.

January 5, 2012
OUR VIEW: Time Warner skating on thin ice
In a high stakes game of chicken between cable network MSG and the region’s largest cable TV provider Time Warner Cable, the only people losing right now are hockey fans the region over.

January 3, 2012
More Editorials Headlines

Editorials

Search Results

OUR VIEW: New York once again in a hole

Site Map

Contact Us