‘Give the governor some credit,” Mayor Bloomberg insisted yesterday, after Gov. Paterson threw a Hail Mary and asked lawmakers to close a $3.2 billion budget hole — or let him do it.
Paterson “is trying to plug the hole that they have,” Hizzoner said. “He’s trying to address the issues.”
Bloomberg called Paterson a leader and credited him for “forcing the issue.”
Mike’s got a point: After all, what choice did lawmakers give Paterson?
For months, he’s warned of fiscal calamity if the Legislature didn’t move quickly.
In a matter of weeks, Albany’s money runs out. Puff. Gone.
Say hello to IOUs, payment delays, a state credit downgrade, higher borrowing costs . . . You know, California!
And did the state’s notorious do-nothing Legislature act?
Oh, absolutely: It said, “No! No! No!” to every potential fix suggested. And pretended the gap wasn’t really so large.
Just this week, Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson nixed tax hikes, mid-year school cuts and trims in funding for hospitals and nursing homes.
Also out: cuts in Medicaid spending, since part of it comes from Washington.
So what, pray tell, will senators use to close the gap — fairy dust?
Actually, that’s not far off: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Carl Kruger proposed simply claiming the shortfall is several hundred million dollars less than it actually is. Dems have also eyed hokey one-shot revenues, like refinancing tobacco bonds.
It all represents a massive failure of will, even as Albany faces a $27 billion deficit over the next 2½ years.
And the clock keeps ticking.
So yesterday Paterson sent lawmakers yet another “deficit-reduction plan.”
And if they don’t like it, he wants them to give him the power to close the gap unilaterally.
“Cut this deficit with me, or I’ll do it myself,” the governor said. “The people of New York have waited too long. I stand willing and responsible to preserve the future of New York’s finances.”
Predictably, legislators didn’t take kindly to Paterson’s challenge.
“I seriously question whether it’s constitutional that we abrogate through legislation any of our constitutional powers,” said Sen. Neil Breslin.
“This is not the old Soviet Union,” huffed GOP leader Dean Skelos.
But legislative hot air solves nothing.
Sampson, Skelos, Kruger and Breslin are quite good at gas-bagging — but deathly allergic to heavy lifting.
They need either to get to work, or to let Paterson do it. There’s little time left.