New York's Tax Folly

Jeffrey Confarotta, a 35-year-old computer software salesman, fits the profile of someone New York officials say the state needs to attract, or at least retain, if the upstate economy is going to thrive...The Fairport native...left New York to live in Massachusetts nine years ago. But family is tugging him back to the Rochester area...But he's not coming home. The reason: property taxes...His present [Massachusetts] house is worth about $525,000. Taxes are about $4,400 a year...He could buy a similar house in a Rochester suburb for $300,000 to $350,000. But the taxes in, say, Canandaigua would be about $9,100....even more in Webster — closer to $12,000, he figured. "We're staying put," he said.Property Tax on Voters' Minds, Jay Gallagher, Democrat & Chronicle, Rochester, NY, 10/23/2006

It's amazing how hard it is for politicians to get it. For the better part of the last four years, New York State's government has made sweetheart deals with labor unions, dramatically increased spending for education, and made little or zero progress in dealing with Medicaid costs that, per patient, are more than twice that in California. The assumption under each increase has been that "rich" people would pick up the tab, i.e., those people who could afford New York State's already fabulously expensive housing. They seem unable to respond to the fact that the largest export from New York is middle income couples with children. They look at midtown office rental prices of $100+/foot and have apparently determined that this proves New York's economy is healthy, neglecting to acknowledge that the number of corporate headquarters in New York has declined sharply, and that manufacturing has entirely disappeared. Like their compatriots in France, New York politicians seem to believe that distribution of wealth is all that matters. But, if even well-paid software salespeople can't afford New York's taxes, what future is there for middle class families in New York State? Don't ask the current "leadership" in Albany. Evidently, families with children are a Red state issue, not something that should concern New York.

Luther