Budget Needs to Be Tightened Up

Published August 14, 2008

Kudos to Governor Patterson for acknowledging the true fiscal challenge in New York: over-spending (August 4, “Experts See Albany Ills as Problem, Not Crisis”).

Revenue is clearly not the problem, considering spending has increased nearly 45 percent over the past five years. With a $26.2 billion deficit looming on the horizon over the next three years, it is time for New York to tighten the belt on spending rather than adding an even heavier burden onto the backs of taxpayers.

If legislators want to fix the state’s fiscal problems, they need to stop trading their unquenchable spending habits for detrimental tax increases. They should follow Governor Patterson’s lead and cut spending, consider enacting sensible tax and expenditure limits, and rely more on the free market to provide goods and services.


John Nothdurft ([email protected]) is the budget and tax legislative specialist for The Heartland Institute.