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Letters to the Editor
Mon, 12 May 2008 16:15:00
Consider the Local Government Burden, Too
To the Editor:
Since The Power Grid on Per Capita State Budget Spending surfaced in your April issue—at the height of tax season—readers of The Capitol no doubt put the Grid’s data in perspective as they licked the stamps and sent off their tax filings.
While state spending per capita in New York is itself not as high as in several other states, when one adds local government spending to the equation—often required to pay for state mandates—the total tab is over the top. The most egregious factor here for most parts of the state are of course local property taxes levied to pay for education and other local spending.
Only one other state out-spends New York on an all-in per capita basis: Alaska. As hundreds of thousands of former New Yorkers will attest, many of the states that have higher per capita state spending also have significantly lower local spending, so that their total tax burden is lower, making them more affordable and desirable places in which to work and live.
When considering state-to-state fiscal competitiveness, it can be misleading to only focus on how much one branch of government spends; far better to consider the end-of-the day experience of the taxpayer who must foot all the bills.
Sincerely,
Ken Adams
President & CEO
Business Council of NYS
A Declined Offer, Not a Refusal
To the Editor:
In John R.D. Celock’s article about the relationship of Governor Paterson with consultants (“Questions Swirl Over Which Firms Stand on Solid Ground,” April 2008), there is a flat misstatement of facts. He quotes an anonymous source who refers to the governor’s “refusal to hire his former campaign manager, Luther Smith, for a Chamber job.”
I was not called for this story nor were the facts checked. Anonymous sources and reporters are entitled to their own opinions about what happened, but they are not entitled to their own facts.
For the record, when David Paterson was thrust into the governorship, he asked me to help. To do that, I had to temporarily leave my position as president of Bill Lynch Associates—and I did. After assisting with his transition, the governor did not refuse to hire me; I politely declined a permanent position in his administration and we remain on good terms.
In the future, I hope that The Capitol will give those who are the targets of anonymous smears the opportunity to give their side of the story.
Sincerely,
Luther Smith
President, Bill Lynch Associates
To the Editor:
Since The Power Grid on Per Capita State Budget Spending surfaced in your April issue—at the height of tax season—readers of The Capitol no doubt put the Grid’s data in perspective as they licked the stamps and sent off their tax filings.
While state spending per capita in New York is itself not as high as in several other states, when one adds local government spending to the equation—often required to pay for state mandates—the total tab is over the top. The most egregious factor here for most parts of the state are of course local property taxes levied to pay for education and other local spending.
Only one other state out-spends New York on an all-in per capita basis: Alaska. As hundreds of thousands of former New Yorkers will attest, many of the states that have higher per capita state spending also have significantly lower local spending, so that their total tax burden is lower, making them more affordable and desirable places in which to work and live.
When considering state-to-state fiscal competitiveness, it can be misleading to only focus on how much one branch of government spends; far better to consider the end-of-the day experience of the taxpayer who must foot all the bills.
Sincerely,
Ken Adams
President & CEO
Business Council of NYS
A Declined Offer, Not a Refusal
To the Editor:
In John R.D. Celock’s article about the relationship of Governor Paterson with consultants (“Questions Swirl Over Which Firms Stand on Solid Ground,” April 2008), there is a flat misstatement of facts. He quotes an anonymous source who refers to the governor’s “refusal to hire his former campaign manager, Luther Smith, for a Chamber job.”
I was not called for this story nor were the facts checked. Anonymous sources and reporters are entitled to their own opinions about what happened, but they are not entitled to their own facts.
For the record, when David Paterson was thrust into the governorship, he asked me to help. To do that, I had to temporarily leave my position as president of Bill Lynch Associates—and I did. After assisting with his transition, the governor did not refuse to hire me; I politely declined a permanent position in his administration and we remain on good terms.
In the future, I hope that The Capitol will give those who are the targets of anonymous smears the opportunity to give their side of the story.
Sincerely,
Luther Smith
President, Bill Lynch Associates
