Lawmakers united against MTA train cuts, payroll tax
Push for East End transit system picks up speed
2 comments below
Senator Ken LaValle (second from left) speaks at a press conference he organized in downtown Riverhead Friday to protest the MTA payroll tax and proposed cancellation of nearly all train service to the North Fork.
It read "No Trax, No Tax" in black marker and was held by Long Island Wine Council president Chris Baiz.
Mr. Baiz was one of a dozen people who spoke at the press event at Digger O'Dell's on West Main Street. The speakers, mainly lawmakers and business representatives, expressed outrage that eastern Long Island governments, schools and businesses are being asked to pay an MTA payroll tax while the transit authority is proposing to virtually eliminate LIRR service east of Ronkonkoma.
State officials say they will fight to see the tax repealed.
"We want to mobilize all of the factions that are affected by this so we can continue to speak with one voice," said state Senator Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), who organized the event.
Last month, the MTA proposed the service cuts to help it close a $400 million budget shortfall. That plan was unveiled just months after the state approved a tax that forces all businesses in New York City and surrounding counties, including Suffolk, to pay the MTA 34 cents for every $100 it spends on payroll.
Governor David Paterson earlier this month proposed a 2010-11 budget amendment that would reduce the tax for businesses outside the city to .17 percent, while increasing it to .54 percent for New York City businesses.
Those present Friday morning said Mr. Paterson's proposal does not go far enough.
"This is a fight about what is wrong in government," said Assemblyman Marc Alessi (D-Shoreham.)
Talks of creating a Peconic Bay Regional Transit Authority, which local officials believe could be run cheaper and more efficiently than the MTA, also resumed during the event.
Creating a separate authority, and no longer paying taxes to the MTA, is the only solution to providing acceptable public transportation on the North and South forks, some lawmakers believe.
"We will provide the public transportation that the East End deserves," vowed county Legislator Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches), whose district covers the North Fork and Shelter Island. "It is time to leave the MTA well behind."
On Monday, MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan defended the transit authority, saying it is examining its cost structure and trying to show that it uses the money it receives in taxes, fares and tolls wisely.
"We expect to have more to say very soon about ways we are reducing administrative expenses," Mr. Donovan said in an e-mail. "But unfortunately, administrative expense reductions alone will not solve a budget gap of this magnitude, which is why we must reduce service to all parts of the region the MTA serves."
East End officials are scheduled to meet with LIRR president Helena Williams on Friday to discuss rail service to the East End. A public hearing on the proposed service cuts will also be held at the county center in Riverside on March 8.
Earlier this month, Mr. LaValle introduced a bill in the Senate that would put a referendum on the November ballot asking residents of the five East End towns to consider the creation of a Peconic Bay Transit Authority. Mr. Alessi and Assemblyman Fred Thiele (I-Sag Harbor) cosponsored a similar bill in the Assembly.
The payroll tax could not have come at a worse economic time, officials agreed.
Many of Friday's speakers echoed Mr. LaValle's statement when he said the payroll tax was "a job-killing tax."
"For every 18 jobs in agriculture, we could have two more without this tax," Mr. Baiz said.
William Schoolman of the Hampton Luxury Liners, which provides bus service between the East End and New York City, filed a lawsuit against the MTA last year because he thought it unconstitutional to force his company to pay a tax to a direct competitor. Mr. Schoolman said that unfair taxes like the payroll tax were one of the reasons it is so difficult for small business to survive in New York.
"I had to write a check to subsidize my competitor," he said. "The MTA is a bully."
vchinese@timesreview.com
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2 comments found
Deficit Spending: Better idea than it seems : 3/4/2010
We need to rethink how we view government finances. Traditionally, government debts were viewed as bad because of expectations: debts are traditionally financed by agreeing to pay them back in the future with interest, and this thus leads to costs in the future. However, what if we simply let the debts be, and cite government accounts in negative numbers? Then new money is created ex nihilo. There is only one problem with this from a US constitutional pov - the Constitution gives only the federal Congress the power to create money ex nihilo, and thus we wind up with the Federal government being shouldered with the burden of all the lesser government debts. There is also one practical problem - potential inflation - but during a straight recession (one caused by the scarcity of money) this wouldn't be a problem. In a stagflationary environment, one caused by scarcity of goods and energy, we need to look for more goods and energy; otherwise, we just spike the inflation. But there are powerful political reasons for deficit spending: in spending more than the government takes in, the government does a net service to society; if it takes in more than it spends, it does a net disservice. At least financially.
Very Taxed by the MTA : 2/28/2010
I don't particularly like politicians that much but,Thank you Senator Kenn LaValle, Legislator Ed Romaine, Assemblyman Dean Murray, Assemblyman Fred Thiele, and Assemblyman Marc Alessi, for it is refreshing to see and hear,what seems to be an important issue with us taxpayers being addressed by a bipartisan collection of elected officials. Please keep up the good work and continue to work closely with one another.
Thanks for all you do.
Sincerely, Johnny Nova
P.S. ... props to Diggers.
