Lower Taxes and Reduced Government Spending Mean Jobs for Upstate New York

By Jeff Brown

• Taxpayer Relief Act: I am the only candidate to have introduced legislation, the "Taxpayer Relief Act," which aims to constitutionally limit state spending and slow the overall growth of government. Under this legislation, annual state spending would be restricted to the previous year's expenditures, plus inflation and growth in entitlements. Any revenues generated by the state in excess of the spending cap in a given year are to be used for three dedicated purposes:

Between 1995 and 2005, New York's state tax receipts grew by 42 percent. If the budget had been subject to these limits, taxpayers would have saved nearly $23 billion over the past ten years. That $23 billion would have substantially reduced New York's debt, created a fund to safeguard New York from severe economic downturns, and returned more than $7 billion to hardworking New Yorkers.

• Medicaid Efficiency and Fraud Reduction Commission: I have fought hard to end the waste, fraud, and abuse that abounds in the Medicaid program. I have a plan that can begin to address that fraud, allowing us to pass dramatic savings totaling at least $5 billion on to state and local taxpayers + savings that would be directed to immediate local property tax relief and the suppression of future property tax increases. Getting tough on combating fraud, waste, and abuse within the system, however, would dramatically reduce these skyrocketing taxes and provide the relief our homeowners so desperately need.

• Reduce State borrowing: New York State taxpayers are currently responsible for more than $48 billion in long-term debt + an astonishing $10,300 in state and local debt for every man, woman and child in New York state. This is in addition to more than $120 billion in outstanding borrowing by New York's public authorities. I support legislation that prohibits "backdoor" borrowing without voter approval and requires a "truth in borrowing" measure that provides transparency on proposed bond issues.