Surrounded by a crowd of residents wearing white jerseys with the number 74 emblazoned on the front and blue caps with red bills bearing the same digits, Gov. David Paterson this morning continued his crusade for a property tax cap.
He held a press conference with Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, further imploring the state Legislature to pass his proposed 4 percent cap. This time, the Suoz and the Gov. had as ammunition, results of a poll released Monday that states that 74 percent of New Yorkers support a tax cap.
Hence, the jerseys and baseball caps.
Paterson said he was upset by some who said the property tax cap bill was “dead on arrival,” instead of listening and negotiating and coming up with something that would help people handle the rising property tax burden.
“We are going to demonstrate leadership,” Paterson said. “Leaders engage in ideas and conversation with people. Those who are not leaders want to control everything, denying though, denying reason denying an exchange of ideas.”
Suozzi, who led the state Commission on Property Tax Relief, lauded Paterson for his steadfast support of the tax cap, calling him a “champion of the people” and presenting him with a cap of his own.
“We didn’t expect the governor to take such a strong position on this issue,” Suozzi said, adding that a property tax cap isn’t the sole fix the problem, just the first step. “A circuit breaker is a wonderful idea. Mandate relief is essential. But we can’t get those things done without a property tax cap first.”
“Circuit Breaker” is a misnomer for a property tax cap, because a circuit breaker would absolutely stop further taxes and spending.
The property tax cap would simply enable a school district to look to the state for funds, which would come from higher state income taxes and other indirect taxes.
The real answer to Long Island’s Government school system’s problems is to reform the entire system by instituting a universal school voucher system with parental choice.
Let the counties set the value for a voucher and let the parents to chose the schools that they believe are best suited for their children and that they most favor. All schools will compete and the schools that provide the service parents desire for their children will succeed and those schools that do not provide the service that parents demand for their children will fail.
Free market competition is the answer…it usually is!