Politics on the Hudson

Governor Paterson will detail his proposed $2 billion in cuts to the current budget tomorrow and is likely to include cuts to health care and education.

“New York is facing some of the most serious fiscal and economic challenges in its history. The gravity of our current budget crisis is clear and we must take swift and aggressive action to reduce spending,” his office said in a statement.

“On Wednesday, we will release a comprehensive $2.0 billion deficit reduction plan for consideration by the Legislature. This proposal, as well as our executive budget in December, will include reductions across virtually every area of state spending. Given the magnitude of this crisis, the only way we are going to be able to get New York’s fiscal house in order is through shared sacrifice. Just as families across the state must adjust to changing financial circumstances, so must our government and those who rely upon state funding.”

Already, unions and special interest groups are gearing up for what will likely be a prolonged budget battle. The Public Employees Federation and the CSEA started running ads this week across New York.

The Better Choice Budget Campaign, a coalition of over 100 non-profit, labor and faith-based organizations, and the One New York: Fighting for Fairness Campaign are holding joint press conferences tomorrow in Buffalo, Rochester, Utica, Binghamton, Albany, Long Island, New York City to fight the cuts.

“The governor is really rushing into this right now and not giving enough consideration to the impact the cuts would have on the economy,” said Ronald Deutsch, executive director for New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness.