Reply #5: Another aspect of the story that's overlooked

[ProSense]

is that Kathryn Wylde, the person mentioned in the NYT article yesterday, is a Cuomo ally:

The seeds of the pro-Cuomo lobbying giant known as the Committee to Save New York were sewn in 2009.

Activists Confront Kathy Wylde At Home

While Yves Smith tried to link her to Obama in her criticism, she conveniently forgot that she knows Wylde is tied to Cuomo:

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That brings us to the most interesting question: who is this Kathryn Wylde? The organization she heads, the Partnership for New York City, is an influential group. She ranked 11 on a 2009 list of New York City’s most powerful women.

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A little less than a third of the individuals named to Gov. Cuomo's New York City economic development council today--or their organizations--gave campaign donations to the governor.

The donations totaled $183,530.

Just two of the 24 members appointed to the council donated personally to Cuomo in recent years. Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, gave $1,000. Her organization also gave $16,250.

more

Wylde slams AG

Partnership for New York City President Kathryn Wylde has had choice words in the media for Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's lawsuit accusing Bank of New York Mellon of fraud during the housing bubble. She has called the suit “grandstanding of the worst kind,” a “careless action” and “an outrageous charge” that could derail an $8.5 billion settlement between the Bank of NY-Mellon and Bank of America over toxic securities.

Some insiders say Ms. Wylde's attacks raise a conflict of interest; she sits on the board of directors for the New York Federal Reserve, which regulates banking. However, Ms. Wylde noted that the board, which also includes banking CEOs Jamie Dimon and Richard Carrión, serves no regulatory function.

link

Something is going on in NY, and it likely has nothing to do with the President.


Check out the videos on her organization's site and some of her writings:

New York Needs Real Reform, Not Higher Taxes

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New York's two biggest areas of spending are Medicaid and education. Both are tough to scale back. But New York's Medicaid program has the most generous eligibility standards in the nation and provides patients with "Cadillac" health care plans. It also allows virtually any New Yorker to shelter income and assets in order to qualify for taxpayer-funded benefits during the last years of life. This is why our Medicaid costs are double the national average. It is not easy to cut spending on health care, but it is unfair to increase taxes on some New Yorkers so that others, who could well afford private health insurance, can shirk their responsibilities.

When it comes to education, 21 percent of the $52 billion state school budget goes for non-instructional purposes. The state has far too many local school districts, each insisting on running its own transportation system and maintaining a gaggle of administrative employees, consultants and turf prerogatives. New York's education spending is 67 percent higher than the national average, without a commensurate advantage in student outcomes. Districts resist consolidation, but their parochial concerns should not trump taxpayer interests.

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Advocates for a millionaires tax argue that the state has a revenue problem, resulting from a financial crisis and global recession that depleted public coffers. But the current year's tax revenues are estimated to be only $100 million short of their all-time peak of $60.8 billion in 2007-08 and are projected to grow to $64.8 billion next year. In short, New York's fiscal crisis is a consequence of spending too much, not taxing too little.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called for fundamental reform of the programs and policies that have made New York the highest cost, highest taxed place to live and conduct business in America. He seems to have momentum to bring real change to Albany. He is trying to take the actions required to make our state competitive again. Adopting a millionaires tax at this time will only detract from those very promising efforts.