What do I want Eliot Spitzer to do in this state budget? First of all, I want him to tell the truth. In the past, whenever the budget was tight, the City and State of New York have cut spending in categories and places where it is not high, to continue increasing spending in categories and places where it is high. I want the Governor to publicly identify the winners, and freeze or reduce their funding, and publicly identify the losers, letting them know they have been sacrificed. Let the over-funded sacrifice this time. In the past, tax rates have been increased to raise revenues. I want the Governor to keep his pledge on taxes with regard to rates and only raise revenues, if required, by cutting back exemptions, deductions and preferences. And I want him to tell those paying more who is paying less. In the past, the State and City of New York have always sacrificed the future when confronted with difficult choices in the present. I want the Governor to tell people exactly what those decisions, on debts and pensions, has cost them, and to avoid additional debts and one shots, no matter how difficult that will make the next year or two.
The legislature will surely rush to the defense of powerful interests that have benefited from past state policies, and those who feel entitled, making the Governor the scapegoat for every change in past practice. Only by informing the rest exactly what has been done to them can the legislature be pressured to change its priorities. They fear the interests they know in an election year. Governor Spitzer will need to make them worry about the rest of us as well.