News from New York Republican State Committee
For more information contact: Matthew Walter, 518-462-2601
Aubertine, Democrats Must End Negative Personal Attacks
Statement from Matthew Walter, Director of Communications

ALBANY, NY (02/13/2008; 1531)(readMedia)-- Over the past few days, Darrel Aubertine and Democrat political operatives have been driving personal, partisan politics to a new low.

While Will Barclay has tried to make this a campaign about proposing positive solutions to the critical issues facing the families and businesses in Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties, the Democrats have been slinging mud and issuing personal attacks in an attempt to confuse and distract the voters.

State of New York | Executive Chamber
Eliot Spitzer | Governor

For Immediate Release: February 13, 2008
Contact: Errol Cockfield | Errol.Cockfield@chamber.state.ny.us | 212.681.4640 | 518.474.8418

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State of New York | Executive Chamber
Eliot Spitzer | Governor

For Immediate Release: February 13, 2008
Contact: Errol Cockfield | Errol.Cockfield@chamber.state.ny.us | 212.681.4640 | 518.474.8418

Long-time readers of my posts may recall this comparison I made a year ago, using the TurboTax computer program, between the federal, state and local taxes owed by two hypothetical Brooklyn couples with the exact same $75,000 middle-class income -- one a couple of retired senior citizen homeowners, the other a working couple crammed into a small apartment. I found that the young couple would pay three times as much in taxes, and that while the seniors paid far less in federal taxes, because retirement income is exempt from the payroll tax, the disparity in New York’s state and local taxes was even greater, because retirement income is not subject to state and local income taxes at all. Well, it’s tax time again, and I’ve once again used the Turbo Tax program to do my taxes and theirs. This year I bumped the income of the two couples -- Mr. and Mrs. Senior Voter, and Mr. Young and Ms. Younger Hopeful -- up to $100,000 to see what changes. The answer is not much. The Young Hopefuls continue to be taxed heavily as if they were rich, while the Senior Voters continue to pay little as if they were needy, despite the exact same income. Adding a child to the Young Hopefuls, and child care costs and child tax benefits, helps little. If Ms. Hopeful were to stay home with the child, the young couple would still pay more in taxes than the older couple, despite lower income.

State of New York | Executive Chamber
Eliot Spitzer | Governor

For Immediate Release: February 13, 2008
Contact: Errol Cockfield | Errol.Cockfield@chamber.state.ny.us | 212.681.4640 | 518.474.8418

For Immediate Release February 13, 2008
Contact: Sharon Lee, 646-879-3289 Total: 1 Page(s)
*** Media Advisory ***

*************************************************
TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE TO EXAMINE
LACK OF PROGRESS WITH MTA PLANS
TO HARDEN SUBWAYS AGAINST TERROR
*************************************************

CITY HALL, NY * The City Council’s Transportation Committee, chaired by Council
Member John C. Liu, will convene an oversight hearing to examine the progress, or lack
thereof, in counter-terrorism security measures long planned by the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (“MTA”).

State of New York | Executive Chamber
Eliot Spitzer | Governor

For Immediate Release: February 13, 2008
Contact: Errol Cockfield | Errol.Cockfield@chamber.state.ny.us | 212.681.4640 | 518.474.8418

State of New York | Executive Chamber
Eliot Spitzer | Governor

For Immediate Release: February 13, 2008
Contact: Errol Cockfield | Errol.Cockfield@chamber.state.ny.us | 212.681.4640 | 518.474.8418

State of New York | Executive Chamber
Eliot Spitzer | Governor

For Immediate Release: February 13, 2008
Contact: Errol Cockfield | Errol.Cockfield@chamber.state.ny.us | 212.681.4640 | 518.474.8418

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If you don't want public services to collapse and taxes to soar, you'd better hope yesterday was an unusual day, and January was an unusual month. According "Rates on $100 million of bonds sold by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, with bidding run by Goldman, soared to 20 percent yesterday from 4.3 percent a week ago, according to data compiled by Bloomberg...New York state's Metropolitan Transportation Authority also had failures, officials said." Did you hear that? The MTA tried to sell bonds to finance it's operations, and no one would buy them. All this pontificating about the MTA surplus, and the reality is the agency is going deeper and deeper into debt, but now perhaps it can't.

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Siena
Research Institute
Siena College, Loudonville, NY
www.siena.edu/sri