Tax Reform
“Before county and local governments are able to determine how their tax dollars are best spent, Albany and D.C. have already spent them by issuing their own mandates without the necessary funding to implement them.”—Larry Sharpe
“We have massive amounts of overspending at the state level that must be cut.”—Larry Sharpe
Unfunded Federal Mandates
Local taxes: The basis of our increased tax burden falls on unfunded federal mandates, which are often detrimental for counties and other more local municipalities to meet with dwindling funds.
1) The necessary funds to meet these demands are dwindling because 1/3 is on Medicaid and the remaining number of taxpayers are dropping off as people leave New York in droves. The best way for the remaining taxpayers to implement change is to vote.
2) Failure to remove these mandates leaves local governments with no choice but to continually raise property taxes, without the discretion of their constituents, in order to meet demands made by bureaucrats who don’t even live there. Property taxes must only be raised with the permission of the voters.
3) Cap the amount of money permitted to go back to law enforcement from various avenues, including speeding tickets and other fines. Law enforcement should not be incentivized to punish its citizens more in the interest of raising funds. Police need to return to enforcing safety and supporting the rights of the people, and not feeling as though they are responsible for bridging the financial gaps created through unfunded mandates.
Overspending for State Overreach
We have an exponentially larger tax deficit than states that support a significantly larger population than New York. Considering our state’s taxes are already higher than every other state in the U.S., we must determine what can be done to stop this fiscal irresponsibility.
1) In the next four years, we must negotiate any pensions currently in the state budget to be transferred to 403(b)s and other options that no longer require state funding. Failure to do so will take New York down to path to eventual default on meeting our existing agreements- potentially leading pension payments to be dropped by as much as 50%.
2) We can reduce the cost of Medicaid by reducing healthcare costs and expenditures. Opioid overdoses cost New York state billions of dollars. By taking the simple steps necessary to prevent opioid overdoses we would save enough money to wipe out New York’s budget deficit and bring in a surplus. In order to increase overall employment and wages, we must eliminate poverty traps and make New York more friendly towards small business and hiring. Increasing these economic indicators will help alleviate some of the state’s poverty troubles, enabling more people to no longer require Medicaid.
3) We must implement alternate sources of revenue beyond the ridiculous taxation across the state. Some options include: running commercial freight on low volume subway lines at night, leasing the naming rights to infrastructure and taking action to make the Erie Canal commercially viable again.
4) We will end the subsidies currently given to major corporations that move in, wreck local and small businesses and leave once their tax savings program ends. By creating an environment conducive to business, small firms and entrepreneurs will once again organically move into New York and remain for the long term instead of simply responding to special favors or interests relative to the state and local government.