NY Gov Paterson and 2 dem pals craft expensive budget in secret
There is no single word to describe the financial travesty that the governor and state legislative leaders have thrust upon the overtaxed citizens of New York with the passage of the new state budget, which includes almost 10 percent more spending and a wallet-busting blast of new taxes, fees and increases.
Worse, the governor and the two Democratic leaders of the Senate and Assembly did it in complete secrecy, even from other legislative leaders, and approved most of the bills without any public notice or debate. They announced the $131.8 billion budget in the morning on Monday and tried to pass it in the middle of night on Tuesday.