As a New York Democrat, OR a New York Republican, your job is apparently to provide special deals to the special people, particularly those cashing in and moving out.

And then when the bill comes due, close your eyes, stomp your feet, and deny responsibility for the damage, particularly to younger generations whose future you have sought to sell off. All of you.

What is happening NOW is due to what you and others did THEN. Everything passes 212 to 0 in Albany. Issues like gay marriage are nothing but a sideshow and distraction.

A HUGE part of the economic problems facing New York State are the ripple effects of the crash in the real estate market.  The way that has played out - initially - was when home equity values stopped rising, capped and then fell.  People with bad credit were lured into borrowing and refinancing - despite their bad credit and hopes to rise beyond their means. As the real estate bubble burst, borrowers no longer had an option to sell their property for a profit, but were stuck with houses that were worth less than their mortgages which they could not afford to pay.

This set off a round of foreclosures, which had an immediate effect on banks that gave these bad loans - and secondarily, investors who had bought securities based on packaged sub-prime mortgages.

While all that was in the works, over this past summer, the astronomically gas prices up to $5 a gallon.  This had an immediate effect on air transportation which had to abosrb the extra fuel costs, trucking, and all of these things led to tighter credit, less confidence and investment in new construction, and basically a re-trenching of industry investment and consumer spending.

All of these problems have had consequences on higher unemployment rates, lower tax revenues. States ordered cut-backs across the board and raising taxes to try to make ends meet.

Everyone has turned to Washington looking for a magic potion for relief.  These bail-outs come with a price tag with interest tax-payers have to pay to those who can buy federal secutiries - like cash rich countries like China and oil producing countries.

Trying to stave off catastrophies, the financiall sector was the first to get bail out relief.  But the 2nd and 3rd groups to make their pitch will find that Washington is less generous. This has been demonstrated when the auto industry recently returned from Washington with a token contribution.  When state governments  - like California and New York - start lining up for bail out relief - we are going to find out that Wasingtron can't print out that much money.

These problems are a lot bigger than any legislation that Senator Diaz has voted for or sponsored.  But take a look at hsi record - - read his press releases from the summer - before the Congress let out - and you will see how he encouraged them to do their job and deal with some of these federal problems because of the impact they would have on all of us.

Larry, at least admit that the pigs at the trough will never miss a meal no matter what cuts are made - but the families in Senator Diaz's district will suffer unless someone speaks up for them.  That's what he's doing.

...do the Governor's budget cuts include cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood?

we're in the global race to reach a lifestyle based on $6 an hour; the chinese are heading up to it, we're headding down to it.  we cannot sustain a lifestyle based on sending all our money out of the country to china for every product imaginable and to the oil producers.  funny thing is, now that oil is down, the oil producing nations won't have surplus to invest in us since their lifestyles are sustained by expensive oil. so, to a degree, what seems a good thing, cheaper gas, is a bad thing, no money coming back to us when we need liquid (no pun intended) capital.

as to nys, it is so thoroughly in the grip of political corruption that nothing short of state term limits; popular referenda; proportional representation and open primaries could even slightly brake the slide. 

budget crisis, easy as pie.  just cut out the 1/4 of the medicaid budget that is fraud, waste, abuse and outright thievery.  don't wanna fight 1199?? ok, how about no raises for civil service unions and transit unions.  don't wanna fight the unions?? ok, how about  raising every tax, fee, assessment, charge and fare , and bleed the taxpayers dry.  then when the state is only populated by those who take, and those who give are living elsewhere, the pols will have reached political nirvana, a complete illiterate, sheep electorate.

is flush or broke, the Bronx has had the poorest Congressional District in the United States (recently relegated to #2 after a border district in Texas).

What have you done to help your "needy" constituents improve their own circumstances?

Why don't you post the perennial drop out rates in your state senate district? Or out of wedlock births, since you believe in the "sacredness of marriage". If you promoted a desire for education and marriage before having children in your district, many of your constituents would not be so "needy". With an education, and some discipline, many of your constituents would have been able to participate in the economy during the boom years, and would not have been consistently dependent. Instead, they have been needy through good times and bad. And you want sympathy?

And the bailouts have been, thus far, for the richest White Collar industry (Wall Street) and the richest blue collar workers (auto).

The bigger picture is the values of the generations in charge, which affected the public and private sectors, federal state and local governments alike. In all cases the insiders have removed the money from the table, and have no right to be self-righteous about the sacrifices of the rest.

...have you ever bothered to bog yourself down with FACTS before one of your ridiculous posts?

Apparently that would get on the way of spewing your frantic excuse for a thought across the blogosphere.

It all very well and good for Senator Diaz to re-state his Democractic beliefs - ones that I share; BUT..... Just what does he want the Governor to do? In his warm spirited letter, he does not mention an alternative. Since the Legislators did not act on mid-year cuts in November or December; or offer alternatives for Patterson to consider, what else can he do. Enough already. Take a stand - make your alternative plan known. Will it be spending cuts? Or more taxes, fees? Or should we follow the federal government and go for continued deficit funding? Please ... earn your pay of $79,500.

Higher taxes and more debts would make more sense -- except as a result of past decisions we already have the highest taxes and debt. For those who put us in this situation to object to any and all sacrifices for them and theirs is infuriating. And the poor? They'be been sacrificed over and over in the bluest state in the country.

Interesting that the author gets a whole lot of information about Sen. Kline 350-018 braindumps, the one member of the Sunshine Committee voting no, but doesn't even bother to bring up the CHAIR of the Committee, Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr. It was Carr, after all, who has been trying for two years to get this Legislator Exemption anihilated. It was, in 2007, the 4 legislative leaders of the House and Senate who asked Carr to hold off 70-643 braindumps.

Carr was criticized by some in the legislature, and elsewhere, for not moving fast enough on the 300+ exemptions to the public disclosure law. However, unreported here, the Committee can only make recommendations; it is the legislature which must act on those recommendations, something they have failed to do since the creation of the committee. In fact, in the last legislative session, not only did the legislature ignore the recommendations of the Sunshine Committee to change 12 of the exemptions 642-504 braindumps, the legislature actually passed 7 additional exemptions.