Log In Register  Bad Joke  by David King on February 9, 2011
Gov. Andrew Cuomo had a real good act going during his budget
speech on Feb. 1. As though it was his first time ever examining
a state budget, he declared that he had found the secret!
Medicare and education aid have built-in cost escalations that
then lead to increased spending and a higher budget deficit
every year. Cuomo acted like he had just exposed years of Albany
malfeasance.  The janitor at the capitol knows the budget works
this way, so the idea that the child of a multiple-term
governor, who worked on his father’s campaigns and served as
attorney general had just found out was a bit of a stretch. Yes,
Medicaid and education costs go up each year. More people join
the roles of Medicaid and neglected school districts need more
money. The Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit resulted in a
judge’s ruling that the state must commit to providing more aid
to urban schools, but the state has put the increase off year
after year.  Nevertheless, Cuom