In his State of the State Address yesterday, Gov. Paterson proposed a plan to end political corruption in New York — and lawmakers politely applauded.
It was like the Mafia giving it up for a crackdown on organized crime.
Well, hey — why not be nice? Nobody thinks the Albany gravy train will be derailed any time soon. And not just because Albany’s little piggies would never stand for such a thing.
It’s also because Paterson himself has scant credibility. That much became clear last year, when he gave speech after speech warning against runaway spending, tax hikes and impending fiscal doom — and then blithely OK’d a budget that grew by a whopping 9 percent and hiked taxes $8 billion.
Sure, Paterson yesterday said many things that needed saying — calling this “a winter of reckoning” and citing “the special interests” who “intimidate” and “badger.”
He offered several fine (long overdue, in fact) proposals, such as a state spending cap and more power for the attorney general to police ethics in government.
There were silly ideas, too, of course — like a plan to replace one tax-break program with another, focusing on “clean energy growth jobs of tomorrow.”
Yeah, that’ll grow the economy. (Not.)
Meantime, he barely mentioned the best way to boost investment, jobs and long-term revenue: hold down taxes.
Despite one prediction that Paterson would make a no-new-taxes pledge, he did no such thing yesterday.
That might mean he’s open to upping levies and fees yet again — even after last year’s disastrous, self-defeating hikes. Spineless, spend-happy lawmakers would like nothing better.
But the damage to New York would be severe. As Paterson himself noted, throughout history, “cultures of addiction to spending . . . have ruined empires” and now “threaten the Empire State.”
So never mind yesterday’s promises.
Let’s see if Paterson can deliver.
Best to keep your hopes in check.