Point/Counterpoint

I am writing to share why I support the Tax Cap legislation which has been passed in the New York State Assembly. Property Taxes in our state, and more specifically in Westchester and Putnam Counties, are among the highest in the United States. It is so disheartening to receive the many calls, letters and emails that I do from life-long New Yorkers who love this state but can no longer afford to live here, or businesses that cannot remain in the black.  more »

The New York State Legislature enacted a “tax cap.” The Governor urged passage. Here is why I voted “no.”

It is a given — our Westchester property taxes are too high. But this legislation addresses the politics not the causes of the problem. It is fashioned to deflect blame because the state has consistently cut aid and shifted costs to local governments and school districts.

The legislation prohibits all local governments and districts from raising taxes more than the consumer price index or 2%, whichever is less, unless approved by 60% of the governing body or the school district voters.

The legislation is fatally flawed.  more »

It’s easy to appreciate the herculean task that Union Free District of the Tarrytowns Superintendent Howard Smith and his staff had in crafting a $63.4 million budget, when confronted with a toxic combination of plunging tax revenues and sharply lower state aid.
But when it came to executing that task and finalizing a spending plan that included $3.6 million in cuts, Smith and the Board of Education have fallen woefully short. No doubt they were tough choices, but they were also the wrong ones.
Smith wielded his budget ax hardest at the elementary schools, most glaringly with the proposal to shutter Tappan Hill School, which houses pre-K and kindergarten. It’s a proposal the school board unanimously rubber-stamped on March 20 with barely a whisper of discussion.  more »

When I first learned that our school district was considering closing Tappan Hill School, my thoughts went to my three-year-old daughter and how she might not have what her older brothers had. Tappan Hill was a magical place for my two boys, and I have nostalgic memories of their beloved teachers in their bright, happy classrooms, safe and sound, on Icabod Lane. The kindergarten building was as comforting for parents as it was for our little ones. I wondered what would happen if we lost this special school dedicated to nurturing and developing our district’s kindergarten students.  more »

Once upon a time in America, most citizens expected government to keep the peace and otherwise leave them alone. We built a vibrant, self-reliant, entrepreneurial culture with strong families and solid values. We respected property rights and promoted competition. We understood that government didn’t have anything to give anybody except what it first took from somebody, and that a government big enough to give us everything we want would be big enough to take away everything we’ve got. Americans practiced fiscal discipline in their personal lives and expected nothing less from the people in the government they elected.

Not anymore.  more »

In his 1996 State of the Union address, President Bill Clinton announced, “The era of big government is over.” Beginning in 2008, the era of big government bailouts began.

By some estimates, the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve Bank have spent, or committed to spend, $12 trillion to try to stabilize the financial system and revive the economy. The unprecedented scale of such governmental intervention speaks to the enormous scope of the economic and financial crisis.  more »