Know the issues
 George
Pataki: Economic nightmare By GREGORY N. HEIRES Before you walk into the voting booth on Nov. 5, take a little time to examine Gov. George E. Pataki’s record. If you work hard for a living, you probably won’t like what you see. If you live in New York City, you might feel stiffed. “Working people like the members of DC 37 have not received a fair share under the governor’s economic policies,” DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts said. Growing inequality: Mr. Pataki’s tax cuts have cost the state government $13 billion a year in lost revenue, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute. But most of the tax breaks have gone to people with incomes over $180,000. After years of tax giveaways, New York now has the widest gap between the rich and the poor in the country, FPI says. Post 9/11 economic development: Some $2.7 billion in federal assistance provided to the Empire State Development Corp. and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. is “being frittered away on grants to corporations. Nothing has been allocated for a much-need job creation program,” says FPI Executive Director Frank Mauro. As governor, Mr. Pataki plays a major role in setting the policies of those two economic development corporations. The Public Policy and Education Fund recently revealed that 26 companies that received more than $1 million each from Empire State Development made $190,850 in campaign contributions to Mr. Pataki between 1997 and 2002. Frozen minimum wage: Mr. Pataki has failed to raise the state’s minimum wage above the national rate of $5.15 an hour. The state minimum wage is now worth less than 25 percent of the state’s $864 average weekly wage, lower than in any other comparable affluent state. Education: Though he has flip-flopped during the election season, earlier this year Mr. Pataki applauded a judge’s ruling that said city schoolchildren are not entitled to an education above the eighth grade. The judge reversed a previous decision that would have brought additional state funding for New York City public schools. Pataki’s school tax relief program (STAR) has accounted for over half the growth in state school aid since 1998, but city kids don’t get a fair share. In 2000, the STAR program allocated about $70 per pupil to the city compared to a statewide average of $413, according to the Center for an Urban Future. Looming deficit: During his campaign, Mr. Pataki has kept very quiet about what could prove to be his most disastrous real legacy: His irresponsible tax cuts have left the state with a budget shortfall estimated at up to $10 billion that will force devastating cutbacks on the state and the city. |
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