Cuomo’s 2012-13 New York State Budget & Reform Plan: Reactions from the 99%
Governor Cuomo released his 2012-13 executive budget plan for New York State today. According to the budget plan, the governor’s goals for this year are to strength the state economy while providing quality services and creating accountability for state spending.
The budget plan includes a spending increase on education and Medicaid (approximately 4%), while highlighting the need to reform and limit state spending elsewhere.
Cuomo’s budget plan also proposes to invest in the private sector in order to stimulate the economy and create jobs for the 1.4 million New Yorkers out of work. 1
Read the statements below to see what the 99% thinks about the budget plan.
Barbara Bowen, President, PSC—CUNY
“The City University of New York is the university of the 99%. A preliminary examination of the Governor’s proposed budget for CUNY suggests that the Budget comes close to the amount CUNY has requested for CUNY senior colleges. If that proves true, the PSC will be heartened to see that the Governor has begun to stabilize funding for CUNY. This critical first step, however, does not reverse the damage done by the last three years of austerity budgets, which cut $300 million from CUNY. Any serious plan to create jobs and spur the economy must reinvest public dollars—not tuition hikes—in CUNY. CUNY’s over-crowded, under-resourced community colleges desperately need reinvestment of funds. We look forward to working with the Governor and the Legislature to ensure that the enacted budget provides the resources our students need.” Read more…
Mario Cilento, President, NYS AFL-CIO
Creating jobs and strengthening the middle class is the number one priority of the labor movement. Much of the Governor’s budget proposal advances that agenda and we look forward to working with him to that end provided appropriate labor protections are in place. However, on the issue of Tier 6, we disagree with the contention that the current defined benefit pension is unsustainable. What is unsustainable is a society where each generation of middle class worker retires with less financial security than the one before. The labor movement will fight to advance the financial security of workers, both active and retired, as an alternative to continuing the race to the bottom.
Billy Easton, Executive Director, Alliance for Quality Education
“We commend Governor Cuomo for restoring $805 million in school aid; these funds will help students throughout the state. The exact distribution of these funds and how much is prioritized to high need and average need school districts will take a few days to evaluate. We are greatly concerned that almost one-third of these funds could be distributed based on competition between school districts which has the potential to create a system of educational winners and losers among our students.” Read more…
Human Services Council
“While there are some concerns, HSC appreciates the Governor’s overall recognition of the importance of human services such as child care, a key work support, by increasing state funding by $93 million to offset a reduction in federal funding and the maintenance of other cost-effective human service investments like alternatives to state juvenile justice facility placement and funding for supportive housing. HSC also strongly supports administrative reforms such as the development of a single statewide application, a single statewide contract, and a Statewide Grants Management Portal–providing not-for-profits and agencies a single web-based platform to transform this system. We have advocated to the Governor’s Office for such streamlined and integrated State agency contracting reforms and we hope to see the Administration engage the nonprofit community in these reforms as they proceed.”
Ron Deutsch, Executive Director, New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness
Last week, organizations from across New York called upon the Governor to follow three simple principles when it comes to closing corporate loopholes; enforcement, transparency and fairness. New York could and should collect hundreds of million in uncollected tax revenue simply by enforcing current tax law, especially when it comes to unreported gains from Real Estate Partnerships. Before we cut one program for needy New Yorkers we should make sure that wealthy real estate moguls are actually paying their taxes. We must also ensure that big multi-national corporations that do business in NYS pay something in corporate taxes.”
New York Students Rising
“Governor Cuomo’s Executive Budget Proposal fails to address the longstanding problems in the SUNY and CUNY systems. Students don’t need an expansion of gimmicks like NYSUNY2020 which only benefit a small fraction of students – they need state investment and a real commitment from the Governor. Years of deep and painful budget cuts cannot be erased by minor budgetary increases or partial support. What New York’s Higher Education system needs is a full restoration of funding for both SUNY and CUNY and a commitment to maintain such funding levels – not a Governor who views our Universities and Colleges as commodities.”
Allen Clark, Community Voices Heard—Yonkers on public works
“The $24 million proposed for the City of Yonkers Saw Mill River Redevelopment is an opportunity to invest in Yonkers residents. Unemployment and underemployment have hit low-income and working class communities’ hard. The city should hire residents from public housing units and those receiving public assistance for the jobs.”
Michael Kink, Executive Director, Strong Economy for All Coalition
“Governor Cuomo’s budget proposal is mostly on the right track in terms of job creation and effective use of government resources for essential services. But it’s clear that we can and should do more for the poorest New Yorkers, particularly with poverty, child poverty and homelessness at modern highs. We urge the Governor and the Legislature to work together to close over a billion dollars in corporate tax loopholes and invest the money into survival services, housing and targeted job creation for the long-term unemployed and people on public assistance. New York needs a head start on real corporate tax reform as part of this year’s budget, and the money raised can and should be used effectively to reduce poverty, unemployment and homelessness.”
Danny Donohue, President, CSEA
“Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget lays out some complex challenges in many areas. CSEA remains concerned that the governor seems out of touch with the day-to-day challenges that public workers in both state and local government face as a result of his budget priorities. Too many necessary services in every part of the state are deteriorating because people are working short staffed and at risk without adequate equipment, training and backup. CSEA has no hesitation in saying that the proposal for a new public employee pension tier is an assault on the middle class and a cheap shot at public employees. It will provide no short-term savings and will mean people will have to work longer, pay more and gain less benefit.” Read more…
NYSUT
“New York State United Teachers today welcomed that Gov. Andrew Cuomo honored his commitment to boost education funding, but said this would still leave students with less state support than they need. NYSUT also said the governor’s plan to tie proposed school aid increases to agreements on a teacher and principal evaluation system, as well as competitive grants, is problematic and would create an uncertainty that districts cannot afford. NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi said that while the union ‘shares the governor’s frustration over delays in implementing the evaluation law and many of his points about the education bureaucracy at SED, we think there are better ways to achieve implementation rather than tying it to funding increases that benefit students.’” Read more…
Article source: 99% New York.
1 Unemployment numbers based on a report by the Fiscal Policy Institute.