Arjuna
.338 Win Mag
Kudos to Citizens Union for pointing out that Gov. Cuomo’s budget plan includes $13.8 billion in shadowy spending — nearly a tenth of the total $152.3 billion plan.
The watchdog group’s “Spending in the Shadows” report flags outlays that face little or no public scrutiny — including for some programs that resemble the Buffalo Billion projects that now have several Cuomo ex-associates facing federal corruption charges, and/or the funds key to the corruption that earned ex-Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver his long federal prison sentence.
The budget includes $9.5 billion in “economic development” funds, which face minimal oversight and are notorious for abuse.
On top of that, Citizens Union identified some $4.3 billion in shadowy spending spread out across 60 different “discretionary” programs. That’s up by $2 billion over the gov’s original budget last year, but about equal to the amount in the final, enacted plan — meaning the Assembly and Senate upped the “pork pot” that much in the 2016 negotiations. How much will it grow this year?
Yes, both chambers of the Legislature have ideas for greater transparency in (Cuomo-controlled) economic-development spending. The gov, meanwhile, has proposals for more sunlight on the lawmakers’ pork.
Will they compromise by all coming clean — adopting everyone’s suggestions?
Or will New York’s top officials prove they’ve learned nothing from the corruption convictions of Silver and ex-Senate boss Dean Skelos and the indictment of Cuomo’s former right-hand man, Joe Percoco?
Sadly, the smart money’s on option No. 2.
Will any scandal put an end to NY pols’ shadowy-spending ways? | New York Post
The watchdog group’s “Spending in the Shadows” report flags outlays that face little or no public scrutiny — including for some programs that resemble the Buffalo Billion projects that now have several Cuomo ex-associates facing federal corruption charges, and/or the funds key to the corruption that earned ex-Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver his long federal prison sentence.
The budget includes $9.5 billion in “economic development” funds, which face minimal oversight and are notorious for abuse.
On top of that, Citizens Union identified some $4.3 billion in shadowy spending spread out across 60 different “discretionary” programs. That’s up by $2 billion over the gov’s original budget last year, but about equal to the amount in the final, enacted plan — meaning the Assembly and Senate upped the “pork pot” that much in the 2016 negotiations. How much will it grow this year?
Yes, both chambers of the Legislature have ideas for greater transparency in (Cuomo-controlled) economic-development spending. The gov, meanwhile, has proposals for more sunlight on the lawmakers’ pork.
Will they compromise by all coming clean — adopting everyone’s suggestions?
Or will New York’s top officials prove they’ve learned nothing from the corruption convictions of Silver and ex-Senate boss Dean Skelos and the indictment of Cuomo’s former right-hand man, Joe Percoco?
Sadly, the smart money’s on option No. 2.
Will any scandal put an end to NY pols’ shadowy-spending ways? | New York Post
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