Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver conceded yesterday that the multibillion-dollar “millionaires tax” on those making $200,000 and up — which is overwhelmingly favored by his fellow Democrats — is dead.
Silver, the Legislature’s most powerful Democrat, told The Post, “I am realistic and I am practical. The governor is not for the tax, the [GOP-controlled] Senate is not for the tax.
“As a leader, that’s the conflict I have, since my members overwhelmingly support it. Will it happen? I don’t think so.”
Many legislative Democrats, seeking to block Gov. Cuomo’s efforts to cut spending to close a projected $10 billion deficit, have hoped the “millionaires tax” on high earners, which expires Dec. 31, would be renewed to raise more than $1 billion in the new fiscal year.
Even more importantly for many lawmakers, the tax would bring in $4 billion to $5 billion in the 2012 fiscal year, when they’re up for re-election and hoping to fund popular programs
Silver, meanwhile, said he’ll seek to change some of the costcutting recommendations outlined late last week by Cuomo’s Medicaid Redesign Team.
While the plan is backed by the state’s major hospital organizations and 1199 SEIU, the powerful health-care union, Silver said he was opposed to the cuts to “various communities, on human services” that would result.
Silver also opposed curtailing medical malpractice awards, which add hundreds of millions of dollars to medical costs annually, but insisted his position had nothing to do with his work for Weitz & Luxenberg, the huge personal-injury law firm.
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4 Responses
As you see, the fight to cut taxes and spending around the nation isn’t a partisan fight. It isn’t Republicans vs. Democrats – it is sanity vs. suicide; it is morality vs. special interests. Gov. Cuomo is waging a battle against his fellow Democrats to balance the budget and get the state working again; yet, they are out of touch. A millionaire tax won’t balance the budget and will cause a bigger exodus from the state (New Jersey will take it away). Capping malpractice will lower health costs whereas Obamacare and those that initiate a government takeover didn’t!
Dave,
While I support reforming the medical malpractice system — I live in one of the most litigant-friendly counties in America — doing so has not lowered health care costs where it has been tried.
Also note that one of the biggest “special interests” are frum organizations who benefit immensely from the government funding that legislative leaders such as Speaker Silver have channeled our way. We have to balance the state budget but we should be well aware that doing so will hurt the frum community.
Look at the last sentence above. It’s a riot. He should be a stand-up comedian.
Charlie most frum people are on the conservative side of issues. You being a leftist liberal are way out on the fringe. Liberalism is k’neged torah, and full of sheker.