Albany, NY – A poll by the Siena Research Institute released Tuesday shows a growing number of New Yorkers believe the state is headed in the wrong direction.

Siena pollster Steven Greenberg says two-thirds of the voters they surveyed rate the state’s fiscal condition as poor. Never before in the four years they’ve asked the question have there been so many New Yorkers unhappy with the direction the state is heading. And according to Siena, voters have little faith that Governor David Paterson and the State Legislature will be able to successfully resolve the budget crisis.

Greenberg says their poll also found that voters support taxing the wealthy to help close the budget deficit.

“Voters continue to overwhelmingly support increasing the personal income tax on millionaires – 77-19 percent – to close the budget gap, and 59 percent support an income tax increase on those making more than $250,000 a year,” Greenberg said.

“The commercials against the Governor’s budget proposals are having an impact. More than 80 percent of voters are concerned that the proposed budget cuts in health and education would adversely affect the quality of health care and education in New York.”

But E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for Public Policy, based at the Manhattan Institute, argues the so-called millionaires tax could end up hurting the economy even more. He says an economic analysis prepared by the Empire Center found the state would lose 22,000 private sector jobs by raising taxes on the wealthy.

McMahon says he anticipates the talk of a tax increase on the wealthy will subside now that the state is in line for a significant boost from the federal economic stimulus package.

The Siena poll also gives Governor Paterson poor grades. His job performance rating is 69 percent negative. And just 19 percent of voters say they’re prepared to vote for him in 2010.

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