The Reviews Are In: Spitzer's Property Tax Plan Flops
The Reviews Are In: Spitzer's Property Tax Plan Flops
Independent Critics Say AG's Proposal Is Full of Holes, Will Only Drive Up Local Spending
MINEOLA, N.Y. -- The initial reviews of Eliot Spitzer's property tax proposal are in, and the verdict of independent experts and commentators around the state is nearly unanimous: the Spitzer plan is a flop.
Just as Tom Suozzi did yesterday, nonpartisan critics have widely derided Spitzer's plan as "more of the same" empty Albany promises, condemned the faulty accounting behind it, and determined it will only drive up local spending instead of reducing property taxes.
"The only person Eliot Spitzer is fooling is himself if he thinks he can sell this political throwaway of a plan to the people of New York," Suozzi said. "Maybe he will learn from this that you can't make policy and fix finances just by issuing press releases."
Spitzer Cannot Fix Albany:
Not the Right Person for the Job
Spitzer: More of the same
"Eliot Spitzer, who's been touting how much will be different the day he takes office, might want to change his campaign slogan to: 'Day 1: More of the same.'" (The New York Daily News, Spitzer's Star Flickers with Dim Property Tax Plan, June 13, 2006)
Spitzer's Plan Failed to Keep Local Property Taxes from Skyrocketing
"... unlike ... Suozzi, Spitzer fails to include a safeguard to prevent local districts from raising their property taxes even as they take state STAR money." (The New York Daily News, Spitzer's Star Flickers with Dim Property Tax Plan, June 13, 2006)
Spitzer's Plan is a Pale Imitation of Other Plans
"... Mr. Spitzer's plan is just a pale imitation of those offered by the other candidates." (The New York Sun, That's All?, June 13, 2006)
Spitzer's Plan Glaringly Absent
"Any specific proposal for controlling school costs is glaringly absent from Mr. Spitzer's plan." (The New York Sun, That's All?, June 13, 2006)
Spitzer's Fancy Math
"[Spitzer's plan for] cutting taxes without recouping the loss of revenue through real cuts in spending or other economies -- not just promises or fancy math -- is a formula for fiscal disaster." (Albany Times Union, Tax Cut Fever, June 14, 2006)
http://tomsuozzi.com/announcements/pr-061406a/