Cuomo and Skelos get it right

On Feb. 1, Governor Cuomo delivered his first budget address. It was a no-holds-barred speech in which he admitted that years of dysfunction and mismanagement has driven our state into “functional bankruptcy.”

Perhaps most surprising was the shady math the state has been using for years to inflate our budget. The governor said he was shocked to learn that special-interest groups had automatic spending increases hidden deep within the budget legislation that projected automatic 13 percent increases and guaranteed that spending on programs such as Medicaid and education would continue to rise even if there were budget cuts.

Basically, our spending on education and Medicaid programs rose a guaranteed 13 percent in spite of our budget shortfalls. Without the inflated increases, our current budget deficit might be only $1 billion or $2 billion rather than the current projected $10 billion.

Wouldn’t it be nice if taxpayers could count on a 13 percent increase in their paychecks every year? New Yorkers have been cheated, and it’s about time we knew the truth.

I applaud Cuomo for unveiling this scheme to taxpayers and pledging to keep the budget process more transparent. I also commend his courage and bold action in finally making the deep and significant budget cuts this state needs to get out of the red. In an effort to close the $10 billion budget gap, the governor’s proposed budget includes significant cuts to education and Medicaid. If it passes the State Legislature, it will reduce state spending for the first time in 15 years.

One of Cuomo’s main targets was school aid, the largest state-supported program, which he proposed to reduce by $1.5 billion. Long Island schools were hit especially hard, with the governor calling for an average 11 percent reduction in state aid in our districts.

Our school officials fired back, claiming that these cuts may force higher taxes. So, sadly, once again, no one is thinking outside the box, and the only remedy seems to be to increase the county’s already notoriously high property and school taxes.