The Governor That Stole Christmas

It’s hard to tell which performance was more cringe-worthy—last week’s Saturday Night Live impersonation of New York Gov. David Paterson, or his real-life budget presentation on Tuesday.

Paterson laid out a plan to create and raise 137 different taxes and fees on the people of New York. Gov. Paterson’s holiday scroogery includes 4% taxes on: cable and satellite television services; clothing and shoes under $500—with a two-week tax holiday; music, videos, and pictures you download to your iPod; and tickets to movies, concerts, and sporting events. Non-diet sodas will come with a new 18% tax.

But drivers, in particular, will find themselves caught in Paterson’s tax trap:

* 5% tax on luxury vehicles;
* 4% tax on tax, limo, and bus rides;
* 25% increase in the motor vehicle registration and driver’s license fees;
* $10 increase (from $15 to $25) in the price of new “reflectorized” license plates; and
* Elimination of the 8-cent-per-gallon cap on the state’s gasoline tax.

For decades, states like New York and California acceded to the demands of the labor unions and professional agitators to create and expand government programs, paying for them through high income, capital gains, and dividend taxes on “the rich.” But now that Wall Street is shedding jobs by the tens of thousands, those pools of revenue have run dry. While Paterson was willing to cut next year’s growth rate to a little more than 1%, without the political will to take on the bureaucratic interests and roll back the runaway spending, he ends up diming and quartering his citizens to death.

At least, those who choose to stay. “You name it, he taxes it,” said state Sen. Martin Golden of the Paterson plan. “If anybody's contemplating leaving the state of New York, this should push them over the top.”

New York businesses seeking an alternative to Paterson’s panhandling might want to consider Texas. Because our elected leaders made the hard choices and exercised fiscal restraint during our 2003 budget shortfall, “Texas has created and maintained a business-friendly environment that continues to attract companies and support innovation and competitiveness,” as our governor, Rick Perry, reiterated earlier this week.

Let’s hope that the 81st Texas Legislature approaches its decisions with the mindset that New York and California need to be more like Texas, and not the other way around. The continuing headlines out of Albany and Sacramento should make that a no-brainer.

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