Albany, NY – In response to the New York State legislature passing the 2011-12 State Budget, Karen Scharff, Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York, said:
History will look back on the passage of this budget as one of the most detrimental actions New York has ever taken against its people. The massive cuts to education, higher education, and other public service programs will prove to send our state backward. It’s clear that Governor Cuomo’s priorities are not shared by the majority of New Yorkers, putting the financial interest of millionaires before the interests of our children, the elderly, the middle class and low-income New Yorkers.
The hundreds of protesters who spent last night at the Capitol, along with Citizen Action’s 20,000 other members across the state, will be working harder than ever to demand our elected representatives reverse course. We’ll be documenting the real impact of Governor Cuomo’s budget cuts and tax breaks for the wealthy. As the budget goes into effect, and school districts across the state are forced to layoff teachers, cut programs, increase class size, the Governor and Legislature will see the real impact of the political game they’ve played – they will see that they’ve squandered the opportunity for New York’s schoolchildren to succeed.
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