With the April 1 deadline to pass a new budget fast approaching, State Democrats have been arguing against cuts to education and health care as always. However, they've also been arguing against tax increases—generally Republican territory. Yesterday the New York Times took an in depth look at some State Democrats and why they've been sounding like the G.O.P.
This November every member of both chambers of the state government will be up for re-election, and if the Democrats lose a seat in the Senate they will become the minority. So their strategy is to argue for more Republican issues if they want to keep their Republican voters. While most Democratic politicians in the city are concerned with education cuts and health care, Democratic senators in the rest of the state realize that property taxes are what's bothering constituents most, and are demanding that the budget include property tax rebates. Senator Eric Adams, a Brooklyn Democrat, argued, "If there’s one thing that’s clear about New Yorkers, it’s that we can’t tax our way out of this problem. We don’t want to do death by a thousand taxes — taxing them on sodas, on cigarettes, on their income.”
However, the Assembly has a much larger majority, leaving them free to tackle traditional Democratic issues like restoring education cuts with $2 billion in new borrowing. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said, “We need education. We can’t afford to lose a generation in education." Of course, everyone is on vacation this week for Easter and Passover anyway, so who knows when this will ever get passed.
