The run up to Memorial Day 2010 was marred by a lot of blustering over closing state parks to fill New York’s budget hole.
On Friday, state lawmakers came to an agreement to keep the parks open.
They did it by increasing taxes and fees applied to businesses statewide.
I don’t have proof or anything, but I find it hard to believe any of this was truly necessary.
Keeping the lawn mowed at state parks is our top budget-cutting priority?
At times like these, I can’t help but think about neighborhood legislative offices.
A few months back I wrote a story about the big dollars being spent on district headquarters and Albany branches and staffers and aides and consultants and managers to fill them. Not to mention the salaries and benefits for the state senators and assembly members themselves.
The fine folks at the Empire Center research group put together an overview of office-related spending in the state Legislature for the six-month period ending Sept. 30, 2009.
The names should be familiar to you…
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