N.Y. governor unveils emergency debt plan

Cuomo says New York in crisis, rules out tax hikes
ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo declared the state of New York in crisis on Wednesday, proposing solutions long championed by Republicans to control a soaring Budget Deficit, overhaul Medicaid and reform a dysfunctional government. On his fifth day in office, Cuomo pledged not to increase taxes or rely on borrowing to close a $10 billion Budget deficit -- roughly 10 percent of this year's Budget -- and said spending increases would be limited to the Inflation rate. ...

Gov. Cuomo Headed To Big Apple Thursday
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images) New York (CBS 2 / WCBS 880)  - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will be in New York City Thursday night to swear in his new Attorney General, Eric Schniederman. On Wednesday, he was in Albany, delivering his very first State of the State Address. Breaking with tradition, Cuomo delivered the Speech in public at the Albany Convention Center and not the Legislature. The newly-elected governor planned to tackle a $10 billion Budget de...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo talks 'change' but not budget cuts
New York’s new Democratic Governor, Andrew Cuomo, plans to try to tackle the state’s problems with competitions, consolidations and, judging from his first major Speech, cajoling. In his first State of the State Speech, Mr. Cuomo proposed competitions such as one among School Districts for a shot at a $200 million pool of funds for improvements. He said he wanted to modernize the state's Oversight of banking, Insurance, and Consumer Protection by moving the departments into one huge ...

Cuomo says New York in crisis, rules out tax hikes
ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo declared the state of New York in crisis on Wednesday, proposing solutions long championed by Republicans to control a soaring Budget Deficit, overhaul Medicaid and reform a dysfunctional government. On his fifth day in office, Cuomo pledged not to increase taxes or rely on borrowing to close a $10 billion Budget deficit -- roughly 10 percent of this year's Budget -- and said spending increases would be limited to the Inflation rate....

Cuomo Stars In Albany
Governor Andrew Cuomo didn’t disappoint his admirers. For a freshman Governor, his first state of the state Speech was a gem. He was tough, engaging and, at times, funny. It was quite a performance. He spoke of turning “crisis into opportunity.” “We must,” he declared, ”transform the state of New York from a government of dysfunction, gridlock and Corruption to a government of performance, integrity and pride.” Of course, it’s only a beginning ---...

Cuomo's plan to reform New York State
Today, January 5, 2011, was the first day of the new legislative session as well as the date for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s first State of the State.  In his S.O.S. Cuomo addressed the current Financial Crisis, “rightsizing” government structures and operations, and ethics reform.  “We must turn this crisis into an opportunity to fundamentally remake the state into the progressive capital of the nation,” said Cuomo a few hours before his Speech. ...

Cuomo says New York in crisis, rules out tax hikes
By Daniel Weissner ALBANY, New York | Wed Jan 5, 2011 5:27pm EST ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo declared the state of New York in crisis on Wednesday, proposing solutions long championed by Republicans to control a soaring Budget Deficit, overhaul Medicaid and reform a dysfunctional government. On his fifth day in office, Cuomo pledged not to increase taxes or rely on borrowing to close a $10 billion Budget deficit -- roughly 10 percent of this year's Budget -- ...

Cuomo Outlines Plans for Transformation to 'New' New York
In his 47-minute "State of the State" address, New York's newly inaugurated Governor Andrew Cuomo did not mince words, but set out a firm agenda for restructuring and reorganizing government, from the state to the local levels, and even tackle the thorniest of political issues: education, Medicaid, and state mandates. He vowed to consolidate state agencies and to incentivize consolidation of Local Governments and special districts; to revamp state education funding to be based on performance. He...

Its Time For Dan Malloy To Govern Connecticut
HARTFORD, CT (AP / WCBS 880) -  Now that Connecticut’s newly minted Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has called for a shared sacrifice to solve the state’s financial woes, state policymakers will need to decide who all will be sacrificing what. Malloy, the first Democratic Governor in 20 years, captured lawmakers’ attention on Wednesday when he said it’s “going to take courage, conviction and shared sacrifice” to fix the state’s problems. “I believe...

Gov. Cuomo State of the State Address - spending cuts and salary freeze for a st
Governing New York State is no easy job. Just ask former Gov. David Paterson. Just look at the expected $10 billion Deficit that faces the State in 2011. Notice the Census that showed the continuation of businesses and population leaving the State. A trend that has been consistent for 50 years. Gov. Andrew Cuomo steps into this seat of power at a time when leadership is desperately needed. Past policies of ever higher taxes and restrictions on business have failed. Leaders at every level of poli...

Medicaid: Cant Get Enough of Your Love Money, Baby
Someone at The Boston Globe is catching on. The paper opens its latest piece on the Bay State's Medicaid woes with the line: “The money, it seems, is never enough.” No kidding! It goes on to explain just how fiscally wrecked the state’s Medicaid program is: Governor Deval Patrick approved a record $9.6 billion last July for the state’s Health Insurance program for the poor — sufficient, he assumed, to last a year. But the program’s costs quickly outpaced expectation

What are Cabinet secretaries really for? Ask Andrew Cuomo
What are Cabinet secretaries really for? Ask Andrew Cuomo So what are Cabinet secretaries good for? Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) knows. Andrew Cuomo pictured in 1999. (Post) Speaking Wednesday during his first State of the State address, Cuomo recalled his years in Washington as secretary of housing and urban development, saying he was grateful to get out of New York. "I needed it," Cuomo told an Albany audience of lawmakers and everyday New Yorkers. "I was one of those people who thought the New...

Congress Unlikely to Extend Hand to Ailing States
Thursday, January 06, 2011 By Kevin Freking, Associated Press Washington (AP) - Cut spending, raise taxes and fees, and accept billions of dollars from Congress. That's been the formula for states trying to survive the worst economy since the 1930s. As Republicans prepare to take control of the House and exert more influence in the Senate, it's clear that option No. 3 will soon wither. States will continue to face substantial Deficits over the next few years, but they will have to get by wi...

Republican $100 Billion Spending Cut
A top agenda item for the incoming House Republicans is to immediately start cutting spending. The GOP promised to reduce “nondefense” (or alternatively “nonsecurity”) spending for 2011 to the 2008 level, representing a $100 billion cut. GOP leaders are now being accused of backsliding on that promise, so let’s take a look at the numbers. The idea is to reduce fiscal 2011 “Budget authority” to the level it was in fiscal 2008. The chart shows the growth i...

House Cuts Its Own Budget by 5 Percent
Thursday, January 06, 2011 By Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Washington (AP) - The Republican-controlled House has cut its own Budget by 5 percent as a symbolic down payment on a promise to wrestle the Budget Deficit under control. Lawmakers say the step shows they are leading by example as they look ahead to fulfilling a promise to return most domestic accounts to the levels in effect before President Barack Obama took office. But the accounts they cut by 5 percent to produce $35 million ...

NEW YORK: Gov. Andrew Cuomo Off To Promising Start On LGBT Rights
The Empire State Pride Agenda notes via Press Release that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is off to a promising start regarding LGBT rights and today mentioned marriage equality in his first State Of The State address. Among Cuomo's first actions since assuming office are the continuance of former Gov. David Paterson's Executive Order protecting State Employees from gender identity Discrimination. Additionally, Cuomo has created a new cabinet level position, Deputy Secretary for Civil Rights, and appointed...

Morning Read: Walking in Jaundiced and Cynical, Walking Out with Hope
Andrew Cuomo's State of the State Speech was emphatically pro-business and Centrist, suggesting he is modeling himself more after his former boss, President Bill Clinton, than his father, former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo. Cuomo said there must be ethics reforms because "Every time there is another headline, there's another cut on the body politic - and a little more trust has bled out." Instead of specifics, Cuomo named an unprecedented trio of highly risky panels composed of some of the most power...

Watch Cuomos First State of the State
Via Gannett’s WGRZ in Buffalo, here is Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s full State of the State address delivered on Wednesday. He called for a Property Tax cap, tighter ethics laws, deep cuts in spending and competitive Economic Development programs. ...

Here And Now
Welcome to Day 6 of Cuomo II, it should be slightly less hectic than Day 1 and Day 5 were. There’s nothing on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s official schedule except AG Eric Schneiderman’s public swearing-in ceremony in NYC at 7 p.m. But, given the ambitions and aggressive approach of this new Governor, who knows? Here are the headlines… The governor mentioned the word “tax” or “taxes” 21 times - mostly to denounce them and promise to lower them -...

Kennedy: Senate Dems Ready To Partner With Cuomo (Really?)
Here’s freshman Sen. Tim Kennedy’s response to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address. The WNY Democrat pledges that he and his fellow minority members are ready to start working with the Governor and calls on the Republicans to do the same. “Despite the failings of the past, now it’s time to stop putting politics ahead of progress. As Governor Cuomo made clear today - we have a moral obligation to work together.” “I’m working to brin...

Cuomo Touts Smart Growth Grants But Stays Mum on MTA Funding
If his State of the State address yesterday offers any indication, transportation policy isn’t going to be a top-tier priority for Andrew Cuomo. He didn’t mention pressing issues like the MTA’s looming Deficits or the state’s crumbling infrastructure, instead focusing his attention on ethics reform, Medicaid and reorganizing State Government. He did, however, repeat his proposal to institute a $100 million competitive grant program to encourage smart growth around the sta...

Cuomo says New York in crisis, rules out tax hikes
ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo declared the state of New York in crisis on Wednesday, proposing solutions long championed by Republicans to control a soaring Budget Deficit, overhaul Medicaid and reform a dysfunctional government. Posted by Reuters on Jan 5 2011 Filed under Reuters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. Click here to cancel reply. We a...

Congress unlikely to extend hand to ailing states
WASHINGTON — With a new Congress, states are also preparing for a new reality that includes less help from the Federal Government when it comes to dealing with their Budget woes. The stimulus money passed by a Democratic Congress and championed by President Barack Obama helped states provide essential services at a time when state revenues were plummeting. Most of the money will run out this year. That means the cuts that states have instituted over the past two years could be even greate...

Congress unlikely to extend hand to ailing states
WASHINGTON—With a new Congress, states are also preparing for a new reality that includes less help from the Federal Government when it comes to dealing with their Budget woes. The stimulus money passed by a Democratic Congress and championed by President Barack Obama helped states provide essential services at a time when state revenues were plummeting. Most of the money will run out this year. That means the cuts that states have instituted over the past two years could be even greater ...

Unions feel by outraged of Tax Payers lack of revenue
Battle lines are being drawn; Unions vs. new purposed Government laws. Almost as if in an Oliver Twist Movie Unions are going to find it a little more difficult to ask for more, when there is no more to give! States under increasing financial pressure are looking to write new laws to restrict Unions that represent government employees and Private Sector unions. In 10 States such as Maine, Indiana, and Missouri Legislation is being introduced to stop Unions from being able to demand and collect ...