No, I'm not calling the citizens of our state capitol fat. I'm calling for a hardcore diet in our state government. It...and we need it badly. The waste and inefficiency is well known to politicos and generally thought of by most New Yorkers. Now we know how bad, at least in the way of how many people work for the state government.
From The NY Sun:
The state Assembly and Senate totaled 3,428 staff members during its busiest period in 2003, the most recent year for which the National Conference of State Legislatures has employment data. That number is nearly 500 more than the second highest state, Pennsylvania, and it's more than 45% more than either California or Texas, the two most populous states in the union.The number of employees for the Senate Democrats in New York, however, is paltry compared to the size of the Senate Republican apparatus, controlled by the majority leader, Joseph Bruno. More than 530 central staffers work under his charge, creating a gap that Democrats often point to as a reason why they have remained in the minority for so many years.
The staffing level for New York's state Senate dwarfed its counterparts in other populous states.
In California, each party employs roughly 50 people in the state Senate central leadership and caucus staff, a spokeswoman for the Senate president said. In Florida, the total figure for Republicans and Democrats combined reaches to about 200, a spokeswoman there said.
Damn! What is it that all of these people do?
Oh thats right, we're talking about Albany, obviously they do next to nothing.
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