Governor Andrew Cuomo released his executive budget proposal today. Citizen Action responded by calling it a divided approach to inequality. Here’s our statement explaining our view:
Governor Cuomo’s inclusion of a publicly funded elections system in his budget is a great step forward in the effort to change Albany’s ‘show me the money’ culture and a welcome step in the long term fight against inequality. We stand ready to work with the Governor to make sure public funding is included in the final state budget.
Unfortunately, the executive budget proposal doesn’t take the opportunity to do what’s needed right now to reduce inequality in New York. It continues New York’s trend of underfunding schools and the needs of working families, while providing tax cuts that will pad the already deep pockets of big banks and the super rich. And while we support the expansion of full day pre-K, making it universal and statewide will require more funding than proposed, and New York City should be allowed to take action right now.
We urge the legislature to adopt Governor Cuomo’s public funding of elections system in the final budget, provide our schools with the $1.9 billion increase necessary to provide New York’s kids with the quality education they need to succeed, and approve Mayor de Blasio’s tax plan.
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