If he does what he said in his State of the State address, the partisan bickering will be with his own party. He talked of lower taxes, smaller government, cutting spending, comprehensive Medicaid overhaul...in other words he talked like a Republican. Then again, John Boehner said a lot of things I like in his inaugural speech yesterday. If only I had the confidence that elected officials will do the things they promise.
I was initially impressed with his speech, but after reviewing it, I have two questions:
1.) Sheldon Silver spoke of "bi-partisan efforts" and "regaining control of spending". Mr. Silver has been a member of the assembly since 1976, and Speaker since 1994. He has established himself as a partisan power broker that is THE ONE that controls the budget. The same budget that is ALWAYS late, never balanced, and responsible for the deplorable state of our state. So what has changed, Mr. Silver? I expect nothing has - we got the usual lip service that will lead to the same back room, closed door, special interest driven debacle of a budget process. Cuomo will not be able to usurp Silver's power. Until that happens there is no change possible.
2.) Mr. Cuomo spoke of shrinking government and slashing spending. His proposal for doing that? The creation of NUMEROUS boards, committees, and panels. Granted, some private sector voices will be heard (Paladino?) but it is still creating more bureaucracy. How is this a change?
This may sound pessimistic, but I, like most folks, have lost all faith in Albany and Washington. The jury is still out on local governments.
If he does what he said in
If he does what he said in his State of the State address, the partisan bickering will be with his own party. He talked of lower taxes, smaller government, cutting spending, comprehensive Medicaid overhaul...in other words he talked like a Republican. Then again, John Boehner said a lot of things I like in his inaugural speech yesterday. If only I had the confidence that elected officials will do the things they promise.
"If only I had the confidence
"If only I had the confidence that elected officials will do the things they promise. "
Amen.
I was initially impressed
I was initially impressed with his speech, but after reviewing it, I have two questions:
1.) Sheldon Silver spoke of "bi-partisan efforts" and "regaining control of spending". Mr. Silver has been a member of the assembly since 1976, and Speaker since 1994. He has established himself as a partisan power broker that is THE ONE that controls the budget. The same budget that is ALWAYS late, never balanced, and responsible for the deplorable state of our state. So what has changed, Mr. Silver? I expect nothing has - we got the usual lip service that will lead to the same back room, closed door, special interest driven debacle of a budget process. Cuomo will not be able to usurp Silver's power. Until that happens there is no change possible.
2.) Mr. Cuomo spoke of shrinking government and slashing spending. His proposal for doing that? The creation of NUMEROUS boards, committees, and panels. Granted, some private sector voices will be heard (Paladino?) but it is still creating more bureaucracy. How is this a change?
This may sound pessimistic, but I, like most folks, have lost all faith in Albany and Washington. The jury is still out on local governments.