As part of the conversation around New York's state budget process, the Innovation Trail is sharing commentary about how to fix the budget, from a range of experts and citizens. Here are our contributors:
- Sandy Parker, Rochester Business Alliance: Enact the property tax cap, reduce unfunded mandates, and trim the size of government through consolidation.
- Kent Gardner and Erika Rosenberg, Center for Governmental Research: Cut the cost of public sector employee pensions by giving them a "defined contribution" pension plan option.
- Tom Belknap, DragonFlyEye.net blogger: Get used to the idea of paying for the services that you want from government.
- Tim Kremer, New York State School Boards Association: Cut expensive mandates around issues like special education, and reform contracting through changes to the Wicks Law.
- Michael Caputo, political consultant: Allow counties to opt out of expensive Medicaid services not required by federal law.
- Martha Robertson, chair of the Tompkins County legislature: Relieve mandates for counties and municipalities to help them deal with the proposed property tax cap.
- Ken Margolies, Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations: Stop blaming unions for the state deficits.
- Daniel Larson, president of Cayuga Community College: Cook up some creative strategies for consolidation and collaboration.
- Grant Reeher, political science professor, Syracuse University: Ask for government to do more with your money - not less.
Want to submit your own budget solution? Email us your solution at innovationtrail@wxxi.org and we might feature it on the blog. Here are the rules:
- Identify a single cut, revenue enhancement, or policy change that you think could have a significant impact on the state's finances.
- Keep your post between 450 and 1,000 words.
- Include a short biography of yourself. Are you a nurse with a great solution for saving money on Medicaid? Are you a farmer with an idea about agriculture? Let us know if you have specific expertise in what you're writing about.
- Use the subject line "budget solution" in your email. Otherwise it might get buried in our inbox.
- We might edit your work to make it more readable, or shorter. We won't change the thrust of your ideas.
- Sending us your post gives us the right to publish it on InnovationTrail.org and on our partner stations' (WXXI, WNED, WRVO, WSKG, and WMHT) sites - but it doesn't guarantee that we'll publish it.
- Sorry, no anonymous submissions.
And of course, you can always let us know what you think in the comments, on our Facebook page,or via Twitter.
