DONOHUE DEFINES TAX CAP AND "CUOMONOMICS"

Danny Donohue
photo: WNYLaborToday.com

Albany, N.Y.-- The head of the state’s largest public-employees union took to a labor website today to blast New York’s property-tax cap and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s position on a state millionaires’ tax, calling the governor’s economic policies “indefensible.”

On LaborPress.org, state Civil Service Employees Association President Danny Donohue said Cuomo’s policies—particularly the 2 percent tax cap—“make it harder for localities to manage their budgets and diminish the quality of life in our communities.”

“The reality of the tax cap initiative is very different from the perception that was sold to the public last spring,” Donohue wrote. “It does not reduce taxes, it simply limits the ability of local governments to address their budget challenges by imposing an artificial cap on their budget growth. The result is now being felt by counties, cities, towns and villages who face the hard reality of service cuts, closures and other pain.”

The emotion behind Donohue’s op-ed is different from comments he made after CSEA came to a deal on a five-year contract with the state, when he said he hoped the union could work together with the governor on various issues.

Labor unions, meanwhile, have made clear they’re going to fight for an added tax on New York’s higher earners. A surcharge on those making more than $200,000 expires at the end of the year.

“Think about it: localities are hurting, state operations have been cut to the bone, public workers have already sacrificed, retirees have been charged more for their health coverage, state revenue projects are alarmingly lower than expected,” Donohue wrote. “But Gov. Cuomo is still hell-bent on giving a $5 billion TAX CUT to the super rich!"

He added, “Indefensible is the only polite way I can describe it.”

-original post by John Campbell, Politics on the Hudson