The site features:
Countdown to the budget deadline,
Various charts illustrating the fiscal crisis (some that have been featured here),
Schedule of town halls where the Governor will address the fiscal situation of the state,
Budget FAQ,
Governor Paterson's plan,
A place for your input (click here)
A budget balancing calculator where you can submit your own plan. (click here)
Take a tour, you will like it.
9 comments:
The Governor is right.
New York state is basically a welfare state. New York City pays the taxes and upstate gets the checks. Now that NYC economy is in the toilet, upstaters will have to pull themselves up by their boot straps and pay their share.
A good start would be to de-criminalize small amounts of cannabis. Release convicted cannabis smokers. And close 75% of the prisons.
Then begin by eliminating stupid social service plans. One example was for having approx. 40 people round the clock, to take care of 5 retarded adults in a half a million dollar home in Saranac Lake.
New York State the 'Empire Waste'
I really like the concept of a truly open and participative government. This is a great step forward. I would only complain that the "calculator" is too crude of a device. We need a much more granular simulation which really itemizes everything.
The Comptroller has been putting out some good stuff too. I also ran across some interesting stuff here:
2008-09 Agency Core Mission Budgeting Reports
It's worth having a look to see what each part of government sees as their "Core Mission" worth funding.
Boy that 7:01 guy really said it.
Are you suggesting that 40 people, "round the clock" to care for 5 isn't a good expenditure of resources? I agree.
But remember. Your problem won't be the 5. We can provide better services for them at a much better price. The problem will be the 40 other jobs. These won't go don't without a fight. With salaries, benefits, retirement, construction costs, maintenance, the costs of these kinds of programs are unbelievable. But they are untouchable. I appreciate your candor in bringing it up, but it ain't gonna happen. Braveheart award to you, Sir. But with all due respect, do you know how many kids we're screwing with a program like this? And it is all about the children.
The Gov is correct: spending is the key.
Factor in priority projects (i.e., put off a year what is not needed now)... stop the "pet projects," just for votes mentality (pork/ member's items)...
THE KEY TO ANY GOOD BUDGET? Lean, mean, but effective, efficient and plenty of common sense.
~ dmf
I like Dan.
But Dan.
You don't get a Braveheart award.
To get one of them you have to be specific.
What do you want to cut?
Lean and mean is good talk, but no specifics. Don't get me wrong, I think you're right on. Now you just have to push the button.
7:01, again. The cannibas thing.
Not too many of the state inmates are in there for being pot users. It most always goes along with much more serious stuff. And the kids that get started smoking pot usually progress to skipping school, thus to a welfare future and all. I know what you mean about keeping it in balance. But in my opinion decriminalizing marijuana isn't the way to go. Maybe that's not what you meant.
It's a good thing to talk about.
Dog is chewing a greenie. A LEGAL greenie.
Anon at 2:46 pm.
I don't have access to the NYS or local budgets, but if I did, I assure you I would make them serve the people's needs, not the pol survival needs.
I've worked multi-million dollar budgets for years (in DOD across many places) and believe it not, the DOD way is pretty conservative and workable - usually a better budget than the last one; depending on the level of the approval process.
I'm not tied into the state process -- all I have is my opinion, just like you.
I, for one, would have liked to give you the chance to make cuts in budgets, Daniel. Perhaps that time will come in the future.
As I see it, NO group will accept ANY cuts of any kind. Not in this state. Our legislators are bought and paid for by these same groups. Therefore, FREEZE everything across the board. Teachers, cops, EVERYBODY. It is the only way to go. Whatever you got this year is what you get next year. Otherwise every case becomes a special case, and nothing gets done. That's the way we have done it for years and that is no longer an option.
As I said, "cuts" are NOT the ONLY way to get a good working budget...
Cuts to me mean "waste, useless or outgrown/outdated items, or reduction in something, while still keeping it function (with less money - which makes not sense if it working?), etc."
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