ALBANY, N.Y. - Assemblyman David Townsend released a statement, responding to Governor Paterson's 2009-'10 Budget proposal.

“After years of sustained taxing, spending and borrowing, New York’s
bill has come due,” said Assemblyman David Townsend (R,WF-Sylvan Beach). “Regrettably, today’s $121 billion executive budget from Governor Paterson, despite its slimmed-down appearance, continues the problems of the past and provides no useful remedy for our potential future difficulties. The budget does this by recommending $4 billion in new taxes, fees, fines and assessments on middle-class families and small businesses.

Our present $15.4 billion budget deficit was not created by low taxes;
rather, the 71 percent rise in spending over the last ten years has led
us to a breaking point. In this span, we have watched businesses and
homeowners abandon New York for other states and regions. We have seen potential employers tap business-friendly tax codes elsewhere. We must break ourselves out of this destructive cycle.

In the coming months, I am hopeful that the quick fixes offered in this
executive budget can give way to a more responsible approach, one that emphasizes reducing taxes on the middle-class, investing in our Upstate work force, and avoiding financial collapse by injecting money into New York’s economy in the most efficient way possible: by letting families and small businesses, not Albany politicians, decide how their money is spent.”