State payroll adds 8,000 in two years
The Empire Center for New York State Policy, a project of the conservative Manhattan Institute, notes in a new report that New York state government has added the equivalent of 8,000 full-time employees since 2006. This, at a time when Gov. David Paterson has just revised his prediction for the upcoming four-year budget gap to $47 billion.
More than half of the jobs -- 4,645 -- have been added by CUNY and SUNY, the report says. In his first budget, former Gov. Eliot Spitzer championed expansions of those higher education systems.
But the growth should slow now. Paterson announced hiring freezes in April and July, according to the Empire Center. Why he had to freeze hiring twice is one of those mysteries unique to state government budgeting. Like calling it a "budget cut" when you simply reduce spending growth.
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Comments (4)
"Growth should slow"???
How about cut, Cut, CUt, CUT!!!!!
We are slowly being bled to death in this state.
Only government would continue to hire when income takes a nose dive!
Voters need to hold elected officials accountable for their votes on spending. Only in the public sector can budgets grow in times of increasing unemployment and decreasing incomes!
In the private sector, businesses large or small slash spending in tough times. They eliminate expenditures, tighten budgets and freeze hiring -- whatever it takes to balance their spending against income.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of elected politicians are afraid to cut spending. Government at every level from local school districts and counties to state and federal levels refuse to eliminate programs or personnel, reduce funding, or freeze government incomes. This is a recipe for disaster unless we elect office holders who will make tough decisions to restrict spending and shrink government employment. If we don't take action, the tab for government employees, benefits, and programs will bankrupt all levels of government. Then who will bail us out?
The thought of my 12-year old daughter paying for this mindless out-of-control spending makes me want to run for office!
Dan: At the rate we are going your 12 year old daughter (and my 16 yo son and 11 yo daughter) will not be able to live in this state.
I'd love to get out now but I am going to wait until they are out of HS and then go. Until then... ugh!
MJ, you are misreading the sentence you are quoting. It means that the growth should begin to slow down now on its own, because the governor has enacted hiring freezes. It is not an opinion about whether or not the state should cut hiring.