Paterson Proposes Tax Hikes After All...For The Middle Class

The Governor's budget comes out tomorrow, but the details are starting to leak today. He'll definitely being cutting programs for the poor like Medicaid and others. Tuition increases for CUNY and SUNY students is also on the list. Yet for the time leading up till this week, Paterson said he didn't want to increase taxes. Well guess what, he changed his mind....though not for the people that can best afford it.

From The NY Times:

ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson will propose a $4 billion package of taxes and fees on a range of items, from sugary soft drinks made by Coca-Cola and Pepsi to luxury items like furs and boats, when he unveils his plan to close a deficit that has ballooned to $15 billion, people with knowledge of the plan said on Sunday.

Higher taxes will also be imposed on health insurers and a sales tax exemption on clothing and footwear under $115 will be eliminated, though the administration will propose a two-week holiday for goods under $500, under the budget the governor will introduce on Tuesday.

A number of fees will be increased, with users of the Department of Motor Vehicles and the state parks bearing much of the burden, people with knowledge of the plan said. Tuition at the State University of New York and the City University of New York will also be increased.

So basically the taxes that affect the working and middle classes will be raised the most. His excuse for not following the wishes of most New Yorkers to cut some programs and tax the rich was ignored. He says that the rich will leave New York and take their money elsewhere, a common tool used to scare the peasants in this globalized age.

Now Governor Paterson has expressed his remorse for these decisions, some that go against what he's voted for in the past. Yet that was then and this is now. Despite his move from the Legislative to the Executive branch in Albany, he should stay faithful to his principles and protect those that really need the help in these dire times and not the wealthy who have for the most part been preparing for nasty economic weather.