Andrew Cuomo « Anne Michaud

Archive for the ‘Andrew Cuomo’ Category

State ‘mandates’ are like cockroaches: hard to kill

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

First published in Newsday.

Newsday’s editorial board frequently meets with people in public life: school superintendents, state and local elected officials, law-enforcement agents. And one question that comes up all the time is how to reduce the cost of public services.

It was an issue back when the only urgency was New York’s position as No.1 or No.2 in the nation with the highest combined state and local tax burden – a “distinction” New York trades from year to year with New Jersey. Now, as the Great Recession has tightened the screws on public budgets everywhere, the question is more pointed: Which will it be, raise taxes or cut services?

Elected officials, candidates and community leaders usually don’t want to choose between these unpopular alternatives. Sometimes they try a dodge: “Cut waste, fraud and abuse!” Hard to argue with that. No one ever campaigns for more inefficiency, dishonesty and corruption.

The other dodge – or at least that’s how I thought of it until recently – was, “Cut unfunded mandates!” (more…)

Tags: Andrew Cuomo, Budget, David Paterson, Education, New York, Politics, Right-sizing, suburbs
Posted in Andrew Cuomo, Budget, Consumer Confidence, David Paterson, Economy, Education, NY politics, New York, Politics, Right-sizing | Comments Off

Keep school budget talk out of the classroom

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

First published in Newsday.

Recently, I was driving my seventh-grader to one of her many events, when she began explaining LIFO to me. She told me that the youngest teachers were usually the ones to lose their jobs when there are budget cuts: “last in, first out.”

I don’t consider this information a seventh-grader should be thinking about – except perhaps when learning labor history in the classroom. She said that her teachers, and others, have been talking about the politics of school budgets.

It may seem a little soon, given that budgets won’t be up for a public vote until May. But people are thinking ahead since this time around will be different. New York schools will be budgeting to stay under the 2 percent property tax cap passed earlier this year. (more…)

Tags: Andrew Cuomo, Education, Family, job loss, Middle Class, New York, parenting, Politics, social effects, Youth
Posted in Andrew Cuomo, Budget, Children, Education, Long Island life, Middle Class, NY politics, Politics, Unemployment | Comments Off

Mortgage schemers’ luck runs out

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

First published in Newsday

Mortgage fraud arrests have begun showing up with great regularity on Long Island. Fourteen people were charged last week with stealing $58 million in a fraud ring that involved more than 100 homes. Another 14, in a separate case brought by the Nassau County district attorney, are facing trial in October.

And there are reports of arranged sales on the rise — cases where a homeowner falsifies a sale, effectively forcing the bank to reduce the mortgage on a home. That may sound like justice for a home that’s lost value, but it’s illegal, and it unfairly spreads the loss to the bank’s other customers.

Why all this fraud in the news? Well, it turns out that Long Island is a hotbed for such schemes. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network says that Nassau had the fifth-highest number of suspicious reports of mortgage fraud per capita, among counties nationwide, in the third quarter of last year.

It’s fascinating how people can think of different ways to make a quick, illegal buck. The convenience store robbery just doesn’t compare for intrigue — where’s the imagination? (more…)

Tags: Andrew Cuomo, banking meltdown, foreclosure, New York, suburbs
Posted in Andrew Cuomo, Economy, Housing, Long Island life, New York | Comments Off

Schools challenged to cut costs, preserve quality

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

First published in Newsday

A couple of weeks have passed since I asked people in this space to send ideas about cutting school costs, without harming the things we all cherish — our best teachers, high academic goals, and the extracurriculars that inspire kids to find their place in the world.

I’ve been overwhelmed by the response. Not so much the volume — about 45 calls, e-mails and letters — but by the quality. People have sent thoughtful, 4- and 5-page letters with good ideas about how to cut spending without hurting students. Former and current school superintendents, school board members, teachers and their spouses, parents — they all want to get in on the conversation.

The response made me wonder whether, as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo tries to target his $1.5-billion cuts to school budgets statewide this coming year, it might be worth convening a panel of informed citizens to come up with recommendations. (more…)

Tags: Andrew Cuomo, Budget, Education, Right-sizing, suburbs
Posted in Andrew Cuomo, Budget, Children, Education, Long Island life, New York | Comments Off