Ask The Governor: Tough Economic Times
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
This Thursday at 9 p.m. on THIRTEEN, New York Governor David Paterson will appear in a special town hall meeting to answer questions from New Yorkers about the economic climate in the state.
Got a question for the governor? Submit your question to Gov. Paterson in our comments section below — it may be asked in Thursday’s town-hall meeting.
Submission deadline: Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 3 p.m.
Do you think that the state should mandate health care workers to receive the H1N1 vaccination? No other state is requiring it, why New York?
Has the economic downturn affected rebuilding at Ground Zero? What are the other reasons that progress has been so slow?
What additional regulation or legislation do you anticipate coming from the Senate or SEC particularly around high frequency trading or related practices? Could this have a material impact on NY state’s revenue from Wall Street?
How can the state balance the need to close the budget gap versus the harmful effect of cutting goverment services and laying off public employees during the recession?
two questions
1. Regarding recent reports on huge migration out of NY State, what do you think is causing it, does it disturb you–and if so, what do you propose to do about it?
2.In light of Gov. Corzine’s failed attempt to get re-elected despite President Obama’s quite visible support, do you now regard Obama’s thumbs-down on your prospects an asset rather than a liability?
If a public option isn’t passed on a national level, would you consider a state health insurance program like the one Massachusetts has?
One of the state’s biggest budget outlays, in comparison with other more solvent (”red”) states is the pension system for state employees. Given the dramatic cutbacks necessary across the board, is it not necessary to also rethink these pensions as well? I don’t want to suggest dissolving them simply with the goal of solvency, but shouldn’t cutbacks be a part of any budget restructuring considering that these pensions are more generous than any comparable packages in the private sector?
In the past several years, state auditors have recovered many millions of dollars from detecting Medicaid fraud and abuse, which is certainly laudable. But what steps are being taken to prevent fraud from occurring in the first place?
Given the huge state budget deficit, and proposed cuts to the MTA and the state’s environmental protection fund, why not reconsider raising revenue through a congestion pricing plan in NYC?
Can you pursue the LIRR disability boondoggle? It seems like the Feds can’t/won’t do anything.
Apart from capping bonuses for banks that accepted TARP funding, what do you think should be done to keep Wall Street accountable to taxpayers?
Governor - We support you in making the cuts. If you and the Legislature succeed in reducing the deficit it will have to include cuts -or at least no increase to state school aid - unless a tax cap bill is passed school taxes this will rise dramatically… unless a cap on the school tax levy is passed and in force. Will you re-submit the cap bill?
Governor - We support you in making the cuts. If you and the Legislature succeed in reducing the deficit it will have to include cuts -or at least no increase to state school aid - unless a tax cap bill is passed school taxes will rise dramatically… unless a cap on the school tax levy is passed and in force. Will you re-submit the cap bill?
Governor - We support you in making the cuts. If you and the Legislature succeed in reducing the deficit it will have to include cuts -or at least no increase to state school aid - if no tax cap bill is passed school taxes will rise dramatically… unless a cap on the school tax levy is passed and in force. Will you re-submit the cap bill?
Governor Patterson:
Non-discretionary spending, including federal mandates and employee salaries and pensions occupies the majority of the state budget. Combined with the generally rising cost of construction, infrastructure investment becomes more and more difficult. Given this paradigm how can the state ensure the completion of critical infrastructure projects, such as Ground Zero and the second avenue subway line?
New York is one of the top dairy producers in the country. With federally regulated milk prices at half the cost of production, farms are failing across the state. What can the state to help these businesses?