Crains New York - January 7, 2013 - (Page 10)

OPINION Reality check for Albany CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS editor in chief Rance Crain publisher, vp Jill R. Kaplan EDITORIAL editor Glenn Coleman managing editor Jeremy Smerd deputy managing editors Valerie Block, Erik Ipsen assistant managing editor Erik Engquist senior producer, news Elisabeth Butler Cordova news producer Amanda Fung contributing editor Elaine Pofeldt columnists Greg David, Alair Townsend crain’s health pulse editor Barbara Benson senior reporters Theresa Agovino, Aaron Elstein, Lisa Fickenscher, Matthew Flamm reporters Chris Bragg, Daniel Geiger, Andrew J. Hawkins, Annie Karni, Adrianne Pasquarelli web reporter, producer Nazish Dholakia art director Steven Krupinski deputy art director Carolyn McClain staff photographer Buck Ennis copy desk chief Steve Noveck copy editor Thaddeus Rutkowski data editor Suzanne Panara assistant data editor Emily Laermer researchers Eva Saviano, Amy Stern intern Ali Elkin ONLINE AND INTERACTIVE SERVICES senior web developer, interactive Chris O’Donnell ADVERTISING, MARKETING AND PRODUCTION advertising director Trish Henry senior account managers Irene Bar-Am, Courtney McCombs, Suzanne Wilson account executive Jill Bottomley Kunkes sales coordinator Danielle Wiener newsletter product manager Alexis Sinclair credit Todd J. Masura (313-446-6097) director, audience development Michael O’Connor senior marketing manager Catherine Schutten event producer Courtney Williams reprint sales manager Lauren Melesio production and pre-press director Michael Corsi advertising production manager Suzanne Fleischman Wies TO SUBSCRIBE: For print and digital subscriptions or customer service, e-mail customerservice@crainsnewyork.com or call 877-824-9379 (in the U.S. and Canada) or 313-446-0450 (all other locations). $3.00 a copy for the print edition; or $99.95 one year, $179.95 two years, for print subscriptions with digital access. www.crainsnewyork.com/subscribe TO ADVERTISE: Contact Advertising Director Trish Henry at thenry@crainsnewyork.com or call 212-210-0711. www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise FOR INFORMATION ON OUR EVENTS: Contact Event Producer Courtney Williams at cwilliams@crainsnewyork.com or 212-210-0257. www.crainsnewyork.com/events TO CONTACT THE NEWSROOM: T wo years of much-ballyhooed “fiscal discipline” in Albany has restored some of New Yorkers’ faith in state government, and not without reason. Pushed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, legislators have passed laws to limit the growth of property taxes, Medicaid and education aid. Mr. Cuomo’s approval rating hovers above 70%, consumer confidence is up, and unemployment is down, despite the disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy. But lawmakers should spare each other pats on the back. They haven’t fixed fiscal problems that the state has papered over for decades, to the dismay of budget hawks. The latest angry birds are Richard Ravitch, Paul Volcker and seven other independent experts on a task force studying state finances across the nation. Last month, they issued a report on New York that should be required reading for the Albany establishment. It informs politicians of how far they still must go to put the budget on sound financial footing. Begin with the structural imbalance: The state consistently spends more than it takes in. Lawmakers are obliged to balance the budget, but often do so with “temporary” tax hikes and nonrecurring revenue, not to mention financial legerdemain like “selling” state assets to state authorities, which borrow the money to buy them. One-shots have accounted for $25 billion over the past decade, the task force found. New York also has $89 billion of unmet infrastructure needs, mountainous bond debt and a huge pension liability. Mr. Cuomo has rejected fiscal trickery, but the state extended a millionaire’s tax, postponed business tax credits (again), deferred pension contributions and booked $250 million from the privatization of health insurers. Those measures total nearly $5 billion in fiscal 2013. This week, the governor will lay out his agenda for the new year. He should begin by acknowledging that his fiscal successes have been modest and must be built on, not merely maintained. A new pension tier didn’t erase the looming liability. Limiting the state’s infamously inefficient Medicaid program and flawed school aid distribution to 4% growth was admirable only compared with the usual bloat. We’ll cheer when the systems are reinvented to cut costs and improve results. (Mr. Cuomo started on Medicaid in 2011 and is only just getting to education.) Many lawmakers have crossed the line between optimism and delusion, acting as if depressed tax revenue will soon recover like a hitter’s batting average after a midseason slump. Reality check: The boom years of the mid-2000s were the exception, not the rule. The new normal is at hand, and Albany’s old tricks won’t work anymore. The boom years were the exception, not the rule CRAIN’S ONLINE POLL COMMENTS bloomberg news Curbing pedi-scams PUSH PEDICAB STANDARDS WHO WON THE FISCAL CLIFF STARE-DOWN? President Barack Obama Republicans Both sides Nobody Date of poll: Jan. 2 290 votes 34% 43% 17% 6% Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed legislation in December tightening standards for pedicab pricing. If he would also raise pedicab service standards, the city would see a measurable rise in the quality, transparency and accountability of the city’s cleanest, greenest passenger transport industry. The New York City Pedicab Owners’ Association was established in 2005 to empower responsible pedicab owners to work together to maintain high industry standards. We regularly receive calls and emails from disgruntled customers of pedicab drivers. The usual pattern: Wellmeaning people board a funlooking pedicab, fail to comprehend or register the rates, and are confronted after a short ride by a driver demanding $100 or more. Regardless of the legality of such arrangements, they are unacceptable. Too many tourists, a critical component of our local economy, leave the city with a bad taste in their mouths, while locals grow increasingly leery of pedicabs. We propose legislation requiring a New York state chauffeur’s license for pedicab drivers. This standard will help ensure that people privileged by the city to pedal pedicabs on busy Manhattan streets are skilled, safe, trackable and accountable—the opposite of what we see all too often today. Once streets are teeming again with respectable pedicab practitioners, we can move on to putting pedicab stands in highdemand areas, widening bike lanes to accommodate pedicabs, and capturing and marketing carbon credits created by the million fuel-free pedicab trips on our streets every year. NONPROFITS ARE NOT ALL ALIKE I have been concerned by the issues raised in “Turf war over campaign reform” (In the Markets, Dec. 17) because recent media headlines have failed to distinguish between different types of nonprofits. IRS type 501(c)(4) charities are permitted to raise funds for issue campaigns. This is opposed to 501(c)(3) charities, which primarily help people or advocate for issues—without making political contributions. It is vital that people understand this distinction. Because of careless coverage of campaign funding reform, dozens of people have asked me about the Met Council’s campaign donations. We don’t make any. No 501(c)(3) should. Our funding serves New Yorkers in need. —william e. rapfogel CEO and executive director Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty 711 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017-4036 editorial phone: 212.210.0277 fax 212.210.0799 Entire contents ©copyright 2013 Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. ®CityBusiness is a registered trademark of MCP Inc., used under license agreement. CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS chairman Keith E. Crain president Rance Crain treasurer Mary Kay Crain Cindi Crain executive vp, operations William Morrow senior vp, group publisher Gloria Scoby group vp, technology, circulation, manufacturing Robert C. Adams vp/production, manufacturing David Kamis chief information officer Paul Dalpiaz founder G.D. Crain Jr. (1885-1973) chairman Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. (1911-1996) secretary Merrilee Crain (1942-2012) Vice president and treasurer New York City Pedicab Owners’ Association —gregg zuman FOR THIS WEEK’S QUESTIONS: Go to www.crainsnewyork.com/poll to have your say. CRAIN’S WELCOMES SUBMISSIONS to its opinion pages. Send letters to letters@crainsnewyork.com. Send columns of 475 words or fewer to opinion@crainsnewyork.com. Please include the writer’s name, company, address and telephone number. 10 | Crain’s New York Business | January 7, 2013 http://www.crainsnewyork.com/subscribe http://www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise http://www.crainsnewyork.com/events http://www.crainsnewyork.com/poll

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - January 7, 2013

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
SMALL BUSINESS
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
REPORT: ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
GREG DAVID
FOR THE RECORD
REAL ESTATE DEALS
CLASSIFIEDS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE BREAKFAST
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - January 7, 2013