Another Millionaire's Tax Proposal

There are thousands of millionaires in New York but still no millionaire tax schemes to get them to chip in with the state's fiscal mess. Senator Jeff Klein is the latest legislator to come up with a plan that would have the wealthy pay a higher rate than they do now. Currently those that make $50,000 pay the same percentage as the very wealthy do. Plenty of Democrats want to change that, but the way to go about it is up for debate. Klein's submission is slightly different from what Eric Schneiderman proposed last week.

From PolitickerNY:

Klein said his bill is different in that it will provide a credit for people earning less than $250,000, instead of just raising rates on the higher earners. Schneiderman's bill mirrors a proposal put forth by the Working Families Party, and a companion bill will be introduced in the Assembly.

"It doesn't just tax the rich, it really provides a fairer tax structure," Klein said by phone. "We're still working out the details. But if someone makes $250,000, we would leave them at the same tax rate they were at next year."

Majority Leader Malcolm Smith is not supporting either bill.

Even if Smith does not support it, I certainly hope that he sticks to his word on reforming the Senate in such a way that other Senators can bring legislation to the floor. The Majority Leader can believe what he wants, but putting the burden entirely on the backs of the working class isn't such a bright idea, even if they don't have as many lobbyists on their side to pitch it to him. Shared sacrifice is where we make spending cuts that primarily affect the middle and working classes and add taxes that affect, well, those that pay a significant amount of tax. It should not just be one or the other.

Senate Dems Could Overthrow Smith For Klein Soon

The U.S. Senate still has some kinks to work out, with three Senators still undetermined in Minnesota, Illinois and here in New York. Up in Albany however, the status of the State Senate makes the federal version look like a solid rock. There have been rumors of Smith not being able to hold on to power with the Democrats winning the Senate, even before Foley and Addabbo won their races. Now, after a month of chaos due to Espada, Kruger and Diaz's actions and the irritation of the rest of the caucus for Smith making a ridiculous deal with the Gang of Three, things aren't looking good for the current Minority Leader.

From The NY Daily News:

ALBANY - State Senate Democrats plan to meet privately Friday amid talk of a possible coup attempt against leader Malcolm Smith.

Sources said Bronx Sen. Jeff Klein, Smith's deputy, has been working the phone in hopes of winning support to become Senate majority leader next month.

There again, Jeff Klein's name comes up. It had been on the minds of politicos wondering who would take the reins from Smith's hands and it seems Klein is set on making it a reality. Some Senators are trying to make it look as if their meeting is not about a coup, but Savino's non-answer concerning Smith's future speaks volumes.

Sen. Diane Savino, a Staten Island Democrat close to Klein, denied there was a coup attempt, saying, "Don't mistake members consulting with each about their frustration with head counting."

When asked if Smith would remain leader, she said only, "Malcolm Smith is the leader right now."

Right now as in 10:15 in the morning. That could change by 10:15 at night.

Majority Leader Klein?

Now that the Gang of Three/Malcolm Smith deal has fallen apart, something has to happen in the State Senate so that either the Democrats take power or the Republicans retain it. Smith clearly blew it throughout the process and the Gang still won't support him to be top dog. Instead of the infamous three handing it to Skelos and Co., who would they be agree to cede power to?

From Capitol Confidential:

Sen.-elect Pedro Espada appeared by phone on Fred Dicker’s radio show. [...]

Would the emergence of Sen. Jeff Klein as a replacement for Smith change things? “That’s an intriguing idea. I worked with Jeff Klein for many, many years in the Bronx. … But that’s not my decision.”

So Klein is possible, but later in the interview he also gave props to Skelos. Of course, he is still Pedro Espada and bullshit answers like these are inevitable:

On charges that his stance is purely self-serving: “This is not about power and control. This is about empowerment and government reform.”

What will the future hold? “In short order, you’ll see people of integrity rise in the Democratic conference.”

Pure. Comedy. Gold.

The drama shall continue, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Klein rise victorious at the end of this. He is Bruno 2.0 after all.

NY Legislators Find HMOs Deny Medicine To Patients

What was already obvious to thousands, if not millions of HMO patients was made clear to New York's elected officials. Insurance companies deny service and medication to their paying clients is the status quo, yet with lax oversight by the Bush Administration and their approval of the practice, nothing has been done to help regular people. Hopefully the study these officials commissioned will make things go in the right direction.

From NY1:

State Senators Jeff Klein, Tom Duane and John Sabini analyzed 19 of New York's major HMOs, and found that 14 of them deny or restrict access to medications which do not have a generic equivalent.

They also said many of those drugs are used to treat conditions that affect higher percentages of blacks and Hispanics as compared to whites, such as heart disease and diabetes.

"The most expensive drugs for the most critical of illnesses are made prohibitively expensive on co-pays and this is just another example on how hard it is to fight to ensure people -- no matter what they come from, no matter what language they speak, no matter what they look like -- have the same access to healthcare as everyone else," said Sabini.

It is a terrible system where Big Pharma and the HMO industry gets to profit from each other's policies while people who desperately need medication are those that suffer the most. Perhaps the executives at Blue Cross, Pfizer, etc like to see people in pain and add to their suffering. They already have fistfulls of money, do they really want that much more? Or is it, like the article suggest, something against minorities?

Parking Cops Go Way Too Far In The Bronx

A funeral in the Bronx was upset by the ridiculousness of local parking ticket officers recently. This is one event out of many where these officers issue tickets to one particular neighborhood in the Bronx at 2 1/2 times the average rate. While the practice may boost revenues for the city, it is drawing the ire of local residents and state Rep. Jeff Klein.

From The Daily News:

City parking enforcement agents are making life unbearable for mourners in the Bronx, funeral home officials and a state senator charged yesterday.

The agents slapped summonses on cars with roof-mounted funeral flags parked outside a borough funeral home and two local churches during funeral masses, said Robert Ruggiero, the owner of F. Ruggiero & Sons in Morris Park.

The agents even towed mourners' cars, Ruggiero said.

"Luckily, we managed to stop the towing, but the traffic agent with the tow-truck driver didn't quash the tickets," Ruggiero said of the most recent incident at St. Francis Xavier Church.

"This is not a night club or a disco," he said. "They are people who are very upset at a time of deep emotional distress."

Personally I feel that these light blue uniformed "cops" are generally obsessive when it comes to their jobs. The amount of tickets issued all over the city is way out of hand and needs to be curbed. Illegally parked cars should be given summonses, but when you have cars in a funeral being towed, the only discipline needs to be directed at the ones writing the tickets, not the other way around.