Unshackle Upstate

June 14th, 2009

The Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce has worked in partnership with Unshackle Upstate, a broad coalition of organizations and businesses, for three years to increase awareness of conditions in New York State and to support actions to improve the environment for living and working here. There have been some notable successes in that time, such as the improvement in Workers Compensation costs, but much remains to be done. This year's state budget is possibly the worst ever for the people of upstate New York, in part because it increases taxes and spending at such a terrible economic time. It seems that leaders in Albany are totally unaware of the effects of their actions, or they just don't care. Businesses and individuals are leaving the state. It's time for the people of our state to tell Albany that enough is enough.  

The coalition's priorities for 2009 fall into three categories; reduction of state spending, a cap on property tax increases, and energy cost relief.

·        To reduce spending, the state must target cost cutting opportunities throughout the budget

·        Health care and education cannot be spared reductions, since they make up 70% of the state budget

·        Government consolidation and shared services must be encouraged. More efficiency can be attained through adoption of the recommendations of the New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness.

·        There must be a focus on permanent structural reforms, tackling out-dated laws

·        A meaningful cap needs to be placed on the growth of property taxes

·        The NYS Commission on Property Tax Relief made recommendations that should be adopted

·        A variety of measures to lower the cost of energy must be implemented, addressing efficiency and reliability

Perhaps most importantly, citizens need to become better informed and to make their voices heard. We need to ask why our state is among the most highly taxed in the nation. And why our government ignores our needs and continues to increase spending and raise taxes. We need to get mad and hold our leaders accountable for the mess we are in. The worst thing we can do is sigh and say, "oh well, that's New York for you". Our people deserve better.