Part II
For Part I click here
The month of December is holiday month. Gift giving and preparations for holiday celebrations take priority over what is happening in Albany. And while business owners are focused on sales and profits, there seems to be a collective sense that by enacting the Middle Class Tax Cut and Job Creation Plan, NYS government has “done the right thing”.
The Middle Class Tax Cut and Job Creation Plan includes the following; In Suffolk County over 34,000 businesses will no longer have to deal with what has been called the “job-killing MTA Payroll Tax.” There has been a restructuring of the tax rates that will benefit middle-class taxpayers and an infrastructure fund has been created to rebuild roads and bridges.
Senator John Flanagan issued a statement “This was a truly bipartisan effort that should show our residents and all businesses that New York is changing how we operate. Over the past year, the Senate has worked with Governor Cuomo to make the changes New Yorkers need and deserve and this plan is another great step forward in that process. This plan delivers tax relief to residents who sorely need it, provides businesses with incentives to grow and create jobs and invests in our infrastructure so our state will continue to recover.”Offering a counter view of the Middle Class Tax Cut and Job Creation Plan is Assemblyman Fitzpatrick.
Assemblyman Fitzpatrick took a hard line on the legislation. “Politics good, economics not good.” But, according to some like Kings Park resident (and 2010 Democratic Assembly candidate) Richard Macellaro “voting against this legislation which decreased taxes for the middle-class, reduced or revoked the MTA tax on small business and established a fund to repair roads and bridges was just wrong. It sends the message that the MTA tax is acceptable, that crumbling bridges and roadways are acceptable, and it sends a message that tax credits for the rich are more important than helping the middle class.”
Fitzpatrick disagrees with the logic behind the legislation “you cannot single out a specific group (the legislation increases the tax rate for those who have incomes of more than $2 million dollars) and increase their tax burden while cutting taxes for everyone else. The people in this group are mobile and have options. Changing their residency to low tax states is a real concern that would further reduce the state’s revenue.”
Fitzpatrick argues that without addressing the issues of escalating health care costs, defined pension costs and reworking the Triborough Amendment, New York State government cannot survive let alone thrive. “I have put forward a plan to remove elected officials from the defined pension program, which I see as the first step in reforming the state’s pension program. All of our schools, libraries and local governments are facing the reality of shrinking revenues, tax caps and increased pension costs.”
Fitzpatrick finds the Triborough Amendment troublesome. The Triborough Amendment established in 1982 prevents public employers from altering provisions of expired contracts until an agreement is reached. The amendment allows employees with expired contracts to continue to accrue pay increases (steps) and longevity pay. The Triborough amendment with the Taylor Law (1967) set out rules for contract negotiation in the public sector. The Taylor Law allows for the right to organize, and permits collective bargaining for wages, benefits and working conditions. The law prohibits strikes by public workers. “We must rein in some of the costs associated with the our public workers. Establishing an additional Tier, removing automatic step increases and reworking the state’s pension system will help the public more than the “peanuts” they are being offered in the form of tax cuts. Singling out those who contribute much and take risks is not the answer to New York State’s economic problems.”
The political pressure for enacting this legislation came from all over the Occupy Wall street message provided the impetus, and legislators reacted. I do not believe in raising taxes and this is a tax increase no ifs ands or buts” Fitzpatrick stated
Richard Macellaro offered his vision of elected office. “Governing is not about saying no to everything whereby nothing gets done. Governing is finding a compromise between two different points of view with the interests of the public as priority number one. “