STATEMENT FROM 91st ASSEMBLY DISTRICT CANDIDATE ON STATE SPENDING LEADING UP TO FISCAL CRISIS

(September 30, 2008) “With all of the attention the last several days on Congress, the American taxpayer, and Wall Street banks, forgotten has been the New York State taxpayer, who’s in as much trouble already and headed for an even worse fate in the years ahead. While the artificial housing and mortgage bubble soared to unsustainable heights in the last five years, New York State Government increased spending 40% over that five year period alone. Now, with a sinking stock market, credit-less banking industry and massive reduction of tax revenue to state coffers, New York faces a projected $7 billion budget deficit in 2009 and upwards of a staggering $26 billion deficit through 2011. This is a nightmare in New York,” Biagi said.

“This is a lesson learned for voters to stop sending legislators, like George Latimer, to Albany who spend tax payer dollars with reckless abandon, even if the money hasn’t been collected yet. My opponent (in office for the last four years) was a reliable “yes” vote in the Legislature that ran up this massive deficit and now we all may have to suffer emergency cuts in services across the board. He’s lost our trust and now it’s time for immediate change this November,” Biagi noted. “We need new, fresh leaders in Albany – the kind that believe in passing cautious spending packages in line with realistic economic trends, not swollen bubbles,” he added.

“The $400+ million the Legislature cut from this year’s budget during the August 19th emergency session was far too small and has already been wiped out in the last week alone, according to Governor Paterson. I sincerely hope that with or without a bailout package passed by the federal government this week, that our Assemblyman and Senators – all of them – return to Albany in the next week or two to avert a potential state-wide catastrophe,” Biagi concluded.