Cuomo to revamp NYS

 Concise and to the point.......andy

Cuomo to revamp NYS

By Brendan Corrigan

Business Editor

Published: Monday, November 8, 2010

Updated: Monday, November 8, 2010

OBSERVER.COM

Cuomo will try to implement his five-point plan for a better New York.

Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo won more than just his seat as the head of New York in Tuesday's elections – he also assumed the state's unnerving financial situation.
"[Cuomo] faces an $8 billion deficit with a $20 billion hole projected in the coming years," Associated Press's Michael Gormley reported.
In the Democrat Cuomo's 250-page campaign platform, "The New NY Agenda: A Plan For Action," he lays out a five-point plan for restoring New York. The steps, Clean Up Albany, Get Our Fiscal House In Order, Rightsizing Government, NY Works and NY Leads, are then broken down into more detailed objectives.
"New York is in the middle of a financial crisis that demands emergency action," starts part two of Cuomo's agenda, "Get Our Fiscal House In Order." "Within the state," it continues, "many localities face severe financial difficulties and other critical programs, such as mass transit."
Cuomo's agenda highlights an emergency financial plan to get New York's fiscal house in order. According to the agenda, we must freeze salary increases of state employees, freeze taxes, and impose both a state spending and local property tax cap.
Most of Cuomo's intentions involve more control on overall state spending through budget reforms and making current state programs such as Medicaid and education more efficient.
Cuomo attempts to tackle the issues of unemployment, underemployment and small business troubles in part four, NY Works. "New York State government has failed to respond to these economic challenges, and, in some cases, has made things worse," according to the agenda.
The agenda suggests offering incentives to employers, such as a "Jobs Now" tax credit that will, under certain conditions, give "a refundable credit equal to the employer portion of the payroll tax for that worker up to a maximum credit of $3,000 per worker."
Along with the tax credit, the Democrat's agenda also seeks to expand "work sharing" programs and encourage people to move to New York for employment, in face of increasing emigration.
According to the agenda, small businesses represent a large portion of the state's workforce. Despite this, "from 2006 through 2009, the number of loans to small business in New York State declined 54 percent," claims the agenda.
To boost the success of small businesses, Cuomo expects to create programs that will assist small businesses with low-rate loans, adopt a New York version of California's "CalCAP," and implement throughout the state New York City's Business Express.
"People expect to see progress, and realistic progress. No one who is at all informed is going to say, everything is going to change on day one," said Cuomo on Thursday during a radio interview in Albany.