Monday, April 02, 2007
LET THE FINGERPOINTING NOW BEGIN........
Our Albany Observer: Spitzer failing to uphold his promise.........here is a classic line from this rant..........."Sure, you got lots of what you wanted in your first budget. A new school aid formula, some big health reforms and money for stem-cell research.".......hello.......I would have to say that is pretty good for the first time around no???? and "Big Health CareA multimillion-dollar ad campaign cut Spitzer’s poll numbers and helped roll back some of his health-care cuts. But the governor won efforts to tie health aid to patients rather than institutions. That will cost hospitals, nursing homes and their labor unions big money in the long run." .........no mean feat don't ya think??? sorry Spitzer didn't part the red sea and turn water into wine......for goodness sakes.............here is the article for you to read.................
Albany – Don’t say Joe Bruno didn’t warn you, governor.It was just days after you made that now-famous boast about doing “more in three weeks than any governor has done in the history of this state.”Yup, you remember that whole steamroller thing. So you probably recall the Senate majority leader’s folksy response.“When the going gets a little bit tough, a steamroller spins,” Bruno joked. “It doesn’t advance.”My, how prophetic those words now seem. You made the name Eliot Spitzer during hard-line negotiations with some of the financial world’s most powerful power brokers. But one quick budget dance on slippery floors of the state Capitol and the Sheriff of Wall Street has fallen flat on his tail.Sure, you got lots of what you wanted in your first budget. A new school aid formula, some big health reforms and money for stem-cell research.But politically, The Steamroller’s a wreck. After all, it’s the numbers we’ll remember: $121 billion in spending, 8 percent more spending than last year, $440 million to placate Long Island senators, $350 million in give-backs to the health-care industry, 11 hours late.You gave ground when you didn’t have to. Worse yet, you did it in secret, hunkering behind closed doors for hours to decide how to spend $121 billion taxpayer dollars. By pushing things to the deadline, you forced lawmakers to vote on bills that were still warm to touch.Now, every executive will make unpopular decisions from time to time. But how can you succeed if you alienate your base, the people who are tired of watching the same old reruns of “Albany Follies,” the people who don’t want a governor who would argue that a late budget is actually an on-time budget.Now, if this is asking too much, I’m sorry. It’s the bar you set for yourself.Remember, “On day one everything changes.”
Brendan Scott covers Albany for the Times Herald-Record. His column runs Mondays. Read his blog and other Albany coverage on recordonline.com’s “Can This State Be Saved?” page. Reach him at 518-463-1157 or by e-mail at bscott@th-record.com.
Winners
Joe BrunoThe guy’s pushing 80. His business interests are under investigation by the FBI. His party loses more members in the state Senate every election cycle. But don’t underestimate Joe Bruno, the wily Republican who’s led the Legislature’s “upper house” for more than a decade. Bruno had a powerful card to play: The guy who promised to change “everything” cared more about having a late budget than he did.
School districtsSchool districts across the state were looking forward to a big payday from the beginning, when Spitzer proposed a staggering $1.4 billion increase in education aid. The Legislature added another $440 million and then struck some of the toughest restrictions Spitzer would have put on the money. Cha’ching!
Stem-cell researchersNew York joined the ranks of those courting the controversial medical field by committing $600 million over the next five years to start a embryonic stem-cell research fund.
Supporters of ‘school choice’The budget increases the amount of charter schools permitted to open in the state from 100 to 200. It provides $22 million in transitional aid to public schools that lose students to charter institutions.
Losers
Eliot SpitzerCall him the victim of high expectations. The first-term governor promised to sweep into office with a new style that would get it done and do it in the open. Alas, one fast-approaching budget deadline, and it all fell apart. It will take months for Spitzer to overcome the political losses of last week’s budget talks.
GOP Long Island senatorsThe convoluted formula that Republican senators protected for years to ensure that Long Island got a large share of education aid is dead. It’s been replaced by a new need-based system that will force Long Island reps to battle each year for funding.
Big Health CareA multimillion-dollar ad campaign cut Spitzer’s poll numbers and helped roll back some of his health-care cuts. But the governor won efforts to tie health aid to patients rather than institutions. That will cost hospitals, nursing homes and their labor unions big money in the long run.
Advocates for open governmentTheir hopes for an end to business as usual suffered a crushing set back when Spitzer slid behind closed doors to slam together a budget before the April 1 deadline.
Albany – Don’t say Joe Bruno didn’t warn you, governor.It was just days after you made that now-famous boast about doing “more in three weeks than any governor has done in the history of this state.”Yup, you remember that whole steamroller thing. So you probably recall the Senate majority leader’s folksy response.“When the going gets a little bit tough, a steamroller spins,” Bruno joked. “It doesn’t advance.”My, how prophetic those words now seem. You made the name Eliot Spitzer during hard-line negotiations with some of the financial world’s most powerful power brokers. But one quick budget dance on slippery floors of the state Capitol and the Sheriff of Wall Street has fallen flat on his tail.Sure, you got lots of what you wanted in your first budget. A new school aid formula, some big health reforms and money for stem-cell research.But politically, The Steamroller’s a wreck. After all, it’s the numbers we’ll remember: $121 billion in spending, 8 percent more spending than last year, $440 million to placate Long Island senators, $350 million in give-backs to the health-care industry, 11 hours late.You gave ground when you didn’t have to. Worse yet, you did it in secret, hunkering behind closed doors for hours to decide how to spend $121 billion taxpayer dollars. By pushing things to the deadline, you forced lawmakers to vote on bills that were still warm to touch.Now, every executive will make unpopular decisions from time to time. But how can you succeed if you alienate your base, the people who are tired of watching the same old reruns of “Albany Follies,” the people who don’t want a governor who would argue that a late budget is actually an on-time budget.Now, if this is asking too much, I’m sorry. It’s the bar you set for yourself.Remember, “On day one everything changes.”
Brendan Scott covers Albany for the Times Herald-Record. His column runs Mondays. Read his blog and other Albany coverage on recordonline.com’s “Can This State Be Saved?” page. Reach him at 518-463-1157 or by e-mail at bscott@th-record.com.
Winners
Joe BrunoThe guy’s pushing 80. His business interests are under investigation by the FBI. His party loses more members in the state Senate every election cycle. But don’t underestimate Joe Bruno, the wily Republican who’s led the Legislature’s “upper house” for more than a decade. Bruno had a powerful card to play: The guy who promised to change “everything” cared more about having a late budget than he did.
School districtsSchool districts across the state were looking forward to a big payday from the beginning, when Spitzer proposed a staggering $1.4 billion increase in education aid. The Legislature added another $440 million and then struck some of the toughest restrictions Spitzer would have put on the money. Cha’ching!
Stem-cell researchersNew York joined the ranks of those courting the controversial medical field by committing $600 million over the next five years to start a embryonic stem-cell research fund.
Supporters of ‘school choice’The budget increases the amount of charter schools permitted to open in the state from 100 to 200. It provides $22 million in transitional aid to public schools that lose students to charter institutions.
Losers
Eliot SpitzerCall him the victim of high expectations. The first-term governor promised to sweep into office with a new style that would get it done and do it in the open. Alas, one fast-approaching budget deadline, and it all fell apart. It will take months for Spitzer to overcome the political losses of last week’s budget talks.
GOP Long Island senatorsThe convoluted formula that Republican senators protected for years to ensure that Long Island got a large share of education aid is dead. It’s been replaced by a new need-based system that will force Long Island reps to battle each year for funding.
Big Health CareA multimillion-dollar ad campaign cut Spitzer’s poll numbers and helped roll back some of his health-care cuts. But the governor won efforts to tie health aid to patients rather than institutions. That will cost hospitals, nursing homes and their labor unions big money in the long run.
Advocates for open governmentTheir hopes for an end to business as usual suffered a crushing set back when Spitzer slid behind closed doors to slam together a budget before the April 1 deadline.
