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Public Tries to Give NY State Senate Budget Suggestions
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 27, 2009
Modified Feb 27, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 27, 2009
Modified Feb 27, 2009
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With the state's budget in crisis, the NY State Senate created a website asking New Yorkers for ideas on how to cut the budget: "If you have a good idea for saving money in this year's state budget, send us your ideas. Get informed. Be creative. Ask questions. And think outside the box. Every submission will be reviewed by dedicated budget staff. "
State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith's spokesman Austin Shafran told Politicker NY that over 2,000 suggestions were made from 1,500 New Yorkers and shared some:
- "Cut stupid waste."
- "Separate NYC from the rest of the state."
- "Hire a welfare mother to go over the budget with you. Seriously. I used to be one myself before I was able to get an education and job skills so I could get a job. If anyone knows how to make one cent do the work of two, it's folks who have that in their backgrounds. However, be prepared to have a LOT of the fat trimmed off the pork."
- "Here's a good way to enhance revenue for NYS. My wife and I are both retired members and pensioners of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System. We pay absolutely NO state income taxes even though our gross income is over $90,000 which includes pensions and Social Security."
Governor Paterson has set a deadline to pass the state budget sometime in April.
Tagged
budget
budget crisis
state senate
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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