ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo wants to spend above the rate inflation
for education and health care, but make cuts in other areas, all while
raising more than $1 billion in new revenues.
That would mean tax hikes on health insurers and freezing breaks for New Yorkers enrolled in the STAR property tax program.
In a relatively somber budget address Tuesday that contained few new
spending initiatives, Cuomo said the state faces challenging fiscal
times, brought about by lower-than-expected tax revenues and federal
funding cuts. That has driven at least a $4.4 billion hole in the 2018
budget, he said, although some legislators said he was exaggerating that
figure.
"This year is going to be challenging, my friends,'' Cuomo said in a speech to an audience that included state lawmakers.
Cuomo's budget speech lacked the rhetorical flourishes of many of his
past fiscal presentations. One lawmaker heckled him, while others booed
and hissed when he discussed his education priorities.
Some lawmakers said Cuomo, angling to keep his name in the list of
potential 2020 White House challengers, is intentionally overstating the
size of the fiscal problems facing New York as a way to ride to a
political victory when the budget is passed later this spring. Or, in
the words of Mid-Hudson Valley Republican Sen. John Bonacic, it’s all
part of an effort “to make him look presidential.”
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Source: The Buffalo News (via Empire Report New York)
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