More Progressive State Tax Begins To Take Shape

6.85%

That is the same rate of income tax that a person who earns $50,000 as one that makes $500,000 or even $50,000,000. The burden of course, is on the middle class taxpayer, who feels that 6.85% much more than the other two. Yet in our quest to fill a $13 billion dollar budget gap, our Governor is asking the middle class to bear the brunt of the cuts he wants to enact. The idea of a millionaire's tax was initially floated by progressive groups and unions, only to morph into a more solid plan to make the tax on a more equitable scale. Last week there was talk of this in the State Senate and finally, it is an actual piece of legislation trying to make its way into law.

From The NY Times:

A group of Senate Democrats plans to introduce a bill on Tuesday that would impose an income tax of 10.3 percent on the highest-earning New Yorkers, a rise of 3.45 percentage points, and increase taxes on all households that earn more than $250,000 a year.

The plan, which supporters estimated could bring in up to $6 billion annually to the depleted state treasury, is one of several options Albany lawmakers are considering as an alternative to the reductions in social services and smaller, more focused tax increases that Gov. David A. Paterson has proposed.[...]

With the Democrats now in control, the bill seems to stand a better chance of passing. But not all 32 Democratic members have signed on, including Malcolm A. Smith, the majority leader, who said on Monday that he was not convinced a tax increase was the right solution for New York’s budget crisis.

“Let’s talk about what the problem is,” Mr. Smith said to reporters as he was leaving a conference of the New York Bankers Association in downtown Albany on Monday afternoon. “The problem is foreclosures. The problem is a $15 billion deficit. The problem is trying to figure out how do we create jobs in this economy. So in that regard, I’m not sure if taxes is the way you do that.”

Malcolm seems to be hanging out with the Governor a little too much lately. That was Paterson's argument last month and it didn't hold weight. First of all, the deficit is at $13.7 billion (according to the Governor), not $15 billion. Second, that is still a big number, and we need different ways of addressing the problem. No one is calling this a panacea but closing half of the gap in a progressive tax is a smart idea. The rest can come in smaller cuts and whatever we get from the economic stimulus that the President will hopefully sign soon. The state budget can be balanced, but our leaders need to show...what's that thing called again? Oh yeah, leadership, leadership to get us through these tough times and practice the "shared sacrifice" that they preach.

Q And A With President Obama

In case you went to bed early, the President held a press conference in the White House last night in lieu of the Senate's vote on the stimulus today. After the beating the bill took in debate, Obama needs to help build it back up so that it resembles what it was originally intended to do. He made the case for exactly that:

Paterson Having Trouble Keeping A Handle On His Own Office

New York is counting on having a responsible budget being passed for the next fiscal year. We need an effective and assertive Governor that looks out for the people (and not just the wealthy people) by making smart decisions and keeping things in order so that the budget goes through. Unfortunately, if you judge Paterson's potential to do this on the way he runs his own office, we are in a whole lot of trouble.

From The NY Daily News:

Last week, Paterson's new first deputy secretary, Lawrence Schwartz, got into a heated tiff over office space with the governor's chief of staff, Charlotte Hitchcock.

"It was brought to [Paterson] and he didn't want to get involved, so they're fighting amongst themselves," said a Democrat familiar with the incident.

"He refuses to lead, and nobody is empowered enough to set things straight."

Another Democrat described the executive chamber as engaged in a "Cold War."

Schwartz, the former Westchester deputy county executive, started his new job with Paterson last Monday and was widely expected to bring a measure of discipline to the governor's office.

The administration has been largely rudderless since Paterson's top aide, Charles O'Byrne, resigned in October in the wake of a tax scandal.

Since O'Byrne left nothing we've seen has been good for the reputation of Gov. Paterson. O'Byrne's tax problems were embarrassing, but nowhere near as bad as the loss of control over a possible early budget, the selection of Kristen Gillibrand to the U.S. Senate and now apparently the control of his staff. This isn't a problem caused by one man like Schwartz though, it is Paterson's problem with hte concept of leadership, he needs to start showing it.

SEC Makes A Very "Un" Civil Deal With Madoff

It really is amazing that when the more news you look at, the more pieces of information that sicken you. Take Bernie Madoff for instance. What about him doesn't make someone nauseous? Billions (whether real or imagined) lost, fortunes and nest eggs ruined, meanwhile he has untold riches of others stored away (allegedly, right, I know) in the Caymans or some other island where investigators can't find it. Well as much as Madoff makes me want to hurl, the SEC goes above and beyond to cushion Mr. Madoff while millions of others suffer in this rancid economic environment.

From The Gothamist:

Hilarious: After not doing anything about Bernard Madoff when warned about him years ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission has reportedly agreed to a civil case settlement with Ponzi schemester Madoff. The AP reports the agreement "could eventually force [Madoff] to pay a civil fine and return money raised from investors." Money raised from investors—wait, the money that no one can seem to find? (Fine, they found $950 million of an estimated tens of billions.) Don't worry, there's still that criminal case against Madoff. The AP adds, "The partial judgment must be approved by the judge overseeing the Madoff case in federal court in Manhattan."

It would be hilarious, if only the story wasn't so sad for so many people. It is also a pity that the SEC is on the other end of the deal with Madoff. In my opinion, Madoff is a malicious criminal and the SEC as an institution (and principal actors within) are at the very least criminally negligent. There is far more than $950 million floating around out there as a part of this deal, and you know if Madoff is let out of prison before he dies (chances are that he will) that dirty, stinking, filthy money will be waiting for him somewhere.

Sen. Nelson Doesn't Fool Paul Krugman, Or Anyone Else

Paul Krugman bashed 'Centrists' like Ben Nelson in his weekend column for making substantial cuts to the stimulus bill. In response, Nelson had this lame non-excuse/denial:



Really though, does Nelson believe that Krugman, or any human being with two brain cells to rub together buys this crap?

A Model "T" Idea To Replace Horse Carriages In New York

The debate over whether to allow horse-drawn carriages to operate in New York City has shown both sides of the issue to be quite passionate for their cause. Those feelings have been simmering and certainly boiled over at the Council hearing on the issue at the end of January. Now it comes time to decide what to do about the situation. There is without a doubt strenuous circumstances that these horses are put into, no matter what the carriage drivers try to say. Something must be done and one Councilman must just have an idea ready to be passed as legislation.

From The NY Post:

After 82 years, the Model T is set to replace the horse - again.

A city lawmaker wants to phase out controversial buggy-pulling horses and replace them with eco-friendly electric replicas of vintage Model T Fords.

The proposal - which has been pitched by animal-rights activists for months - has been taken up by Councilman Daniel Garodnick (D-Manhattan), who is hoping to put it before the City Council this spring.

Whether Garodnick gets Quinn's approval to present the bill is still up for debate, though it is better that he is presenting it rather than CM Avella. Of course carriage drivers are still upset over this, apparently for the love of their horses. If they love their horses, they'll send them away from the fumes of NYC and to, clichés aside, greener pastures.

Drilling For Geo-Thermal Energy

Clean energy systems are the key to our future as a 21st century (and beyond) society. I rave about wind and solar often, but thanks to Dan Jacoby I now have a new model to add to those two. Geo-thermal energy has been around a while in the form of dams but using the temperature-moderation abilities of dirt could revolutionize the way we power our homes, businesses and electric cars.

From The Albany Project:

This energy source actually derives from the fact that while the air temperature gets very hot in the summer and just as cold in the winter, just a few feet underground the temperature remains almost constant. As a result, there is often a large difference between the air temperature and the underground temperature. If the heat from the ground can be made to flow into the cold winter air, and the summer heat in the air be made to flow into the cooler ground, that heat flow can be tapped and converted into a usable energy source.

This is known as "geothermal heat exchange."

Using current technology, a geothermal heat exchange system usually involves a closed loop of plastic or copper pipe through which an antifreeze solution is pumped. In the summer, the antifreeze warms up when it is above ground and cools down when underground; in the winter, the reverse occurs.

The warmed (or cooled) liquid is then pumped into a geothermal unit. In the winter, the heat is compressed and distributed throughout the building, helping to heat it. In the summer, the cooler temperature can be used to pull heat from the house, aiding, or even replacing, conventional air conditioning systems.

Sounds simple enough, all we need are the people to build these new systems. Oh, what did you say? We've lost 3.5 million jobs in the last year? Well let's actually utilize the stimulus and put people to work so that we can diversify our nation's energy infrastructure. Instead of those new tacked-on tax cuts, we should replace them with this extremely smart idea.

NYSUT To Paterson, Don't Mess With Our Teachers!

As the battle of the New York State budget heats up, so does the pressure from unions like the NY State Union of Teachers, who would rather see ther wealthy be taxed their fair share instead of cutting the amount of teachers we employ. In these dire times, what we need is more education to ensure a better future for our kids, not the other way around.

Too Many Cuts

Barack Obama is spending part of the week touring the country to drum up support for his stimulus bill. His problem however isn't across America, because frankly, the people support him. It is a certain section of the Senate that is truly hampering a decent stimulus that can start to rev the economic engine of this country again. In the aftermath of "bipartisanship," centrists and conservatives were able to lop off crucial parts of the bill that would have created by some estimates 600,000 jobs by themselves.

Programs like these:

Partially cut:

• $3.5 billion for energy-efficient federal buildings (original bill $7 billion)

• $75 million from Smithsonian (original bill $150 million)

• $200 million from Environmental Protection Agency Superfund (original bill $800 million)

• $100 million from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (original bill $427 million)

• $100 million from law enforcement wireless (original bill $200 million)

• $300 million from federal fleet of hybrid vehicles (original bill $600 million)

• $100 million from FBI construction (original bill $400 million)

Fully eliminated

• $55 million for historic preservation

• $122 million for Coast Guard polar icebreaker/cutters

• $100 million for Farm Service Agency modernization

• $50 million for Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service

• $65 million for watershed rehabilitation

• $100 million for distance learning

• $98 million for school nutrition

• $50 million for aquaculture

• $2 billion for broadband

• $100 million for National Institute of Standards and Technology

• $50 million for detention trustee

• $25 million for Marshalls Construction

• $300 million for federal prisons

• $300 million for BYRNE Formula grant program

• $140 million for BYRNE Competitive grant program

• $10 million state and local law enforcement

• $50 million for NASA

• $50 million for aeronautics

• $50 million for exploration

• $50 million for Cross Agency Support

• $200 million for National Science Foundation

• $100 million for science

• $1 billion for Energy Loan Guarantees

• $4.5 billion for General Services Administration

• $89 million General Services Administration operations

• $50 million from Department of Homeland Security

• $200 million Transportation Security Administration

• $122 million for Coast Guard Cutters, modifies use

• $25 million for Fish and Wildlife

• $55 million for historic preservation

• $20 million for working capital fund

• $165 million for Forest Service capital improvement

• $90 million for State and Private Wildlife Fire Management

• $1 billion for Head Start/Early Start

• $5.8 billion for Health Prevention Activity

• $2 billion for Health Information Technology Grants

• $600 million for Title I (No Child Left Behind)

• $16 billion for school construction

• $3.5 billion for higher education construction

• $1.25 billion for project based rental

• $2.25 billion for Neighborhood Stabilization

• $1.2 billion for retrofitting Project 8 housing

• $40 billion for state fiscal stabilization (includes $7.5 billion of state incentive grants)

Those were programs that states were counting on as a reinvestment in their communities. Those were jobs waiting to happen. That was a network of infrastructure ready to be built. Instead, much of that was replaced by more tax cuts, more of the same policies that have failed us in the last eight years (and up to 30 years back too).

There's nothing more spectacular than seeing Barack Obama in campaign mode, but I'd rather see him working over Congress and making sure that he gets the best possible stimulus out of our Legislative branch that he can.

Smith Says No Gay Marriage This Year...How About We Get Them On Record?

Saturday night Malcolm Smith made a very disappointing statement. After months on the campaign trail promising to pass marriage equality if only we'd elect a Democratic Senate, he doesn't see the bill going anywhere this year (I'm sure all the LGBT groups that gave the DSCC money would have liked to know that). The problem, according to Malcolm is that he just doen;t have the 32 votes necessary to get the bill through.

From The NY Times:

Speaking in Manhattan at a fund-raiser for the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay-rights group, Mr. Smith said there was still much work to be done on the issue.

“I know one of your top priorities is the recognition of marriage between same-sex couples — something that I strongly support, something that I believe in and something that we will make happen together,” he told the crowd.

Then, as he received a burst of applause and cheers, he added, “Hold up.” He went on: “Although we do not have the number of votes at this time needed to pass the marriage equality gender bill this legislative session, we are committed to pursuing its passage. And the question is not if; the question is when. So our work still needs to happen for it to happen this year. But I’m going to need your help, and I’m going to need your prayers.”

The Majority Leader can have my prayers, my chants and my meditative thoughts, but only for a price. Everything in Albany costs something right? These things are bleepin' valuable if you know what I'm saying. What I want isn't cash or a prize, what I want is a sign of reform in the Senate. Supposedly that was priority number one (or two or three) for the incoming Democratic majority.

A sign of reform would be to actually let another member of the Senate bring the bill to legalize gay marriage to the floor and let all 62 Senators take a stand on the matter, in public. For decades we have had little to no transparency in our State Legislature, where the crucial deals are made off-site, or somewhere in the LOB. So Smith, what do you say? I'll trade you some prayers if you let the bill go via Committee Chair for an open vote like you promised. Sounds like a fair deal to me.

Sen. Grassley Loves Him Some "Porkulus"

Senator Grassley probably thought he was being witty when he labeled parts of the stimulus bill as "porkulus." Though as most politicians like Grassley, he forgets that the Internet has a funny way of recounting the Senator's own pork-barrel spending and Jon Stewart had no problem in pointing that out.

Europe Cuts Executive Pay Packages, If They Can Understand It So Should We

In case you haven't seen it, the New York Times wrote a ridiculous article this past Thursday about how hard it is soooo hard to live on half a million dollars in Manhattan. They concluded that with all the "necessary" expenses, a salary of $1.6 million is far more agreeable. If you get the urge to knock them the %$#& out, don't worry, you aren't alone. As much as the majority of the wealthy in America bitch and moan about Obama's decision to cap salaries of bailed out institutions, our friends on the other side of the pond clearly get it that we are in a big mess and that everyone needs to get together to help solve this crisis, even if the rich have to take a pay cut.

From (ironically) The NY Times:

“There’s no opposition to giving bonuses or high pay to people who are successful,” said Mr. Bolkestein, now a professor at the universities of Delft and Leiden in the Netherlands. “But there should be no extra money for people who have failed.”

And, in some cases, no jobs. Royal Bank of Scotland Group fired seven nonexecutive directors Friday as part of a restructuring agreement with the British government, which pumped in about $30 billion to rescue the bank.

On Friday, European governments were encouraged to follow the example of the United States by limiting executive pay at companies receiving government aid.

“The commission very much welcomes this kind of limit placed on the pay and bonuses of executives,” a European Commission spokesman, Jonathan Todd, was quoted as saying by Reuters. Such restrictions could be an extra incentive for banks to repay state bailouts.

Restrictions on financial institutions vary, from a ban on all bonuses to capping severance pay packages. It is smart and sensible for the behavior of executives to be held in check. As the article notes, many countries in Europe and the banks themselves are becoming more responsible with their money and what they are paying their employees in light of their bad business practices in recent years. I am sure there a few that protest over there as they do here, but in Europe overall, there is more seriousness in actually getting these banks to act responsibly in light of what is happening to the world economy.