Opinion Tax choices bad for our community

With this difficult economic climate, there’s a lot of talk about taxes and spending policy; what I have always taught my children is that the single most important thing to understand about taxes is that taxes are choices – they’re tradeoffs. All you need to do to prove this is to take a look at your pay stub at the end of the week.

When you look at your pay stub, you see three major parts: one shows you how much you earned, the second shows you how much has been taken by various levels of government in taxes, and the third shows how much you have left. That’s the choice – that’s the tradeoff. The more you pay in taxes, the less you have to take care of your family and the more the government has to spend; the less you pay in taxes, the less the government has to spend, but the more you can use to provide a better life for your family. It’s that simple. Along the same line, if there is a certain level of income you need to provide the life you want for your family, if your taxes are higher, you will have to work more hours to bring home that money, and you will have less time to actually be with your family. Again, it’s a choice – a tradeoff.

New York’s tax choices are out of whack. Our combined state and local tax burden is the second highest in the nation. This means that New York is the second hardest state in the entire country to earn, save, and make a good secure life for your family. While in the average state, combined government authorities took under 10 percent of the income of their citizens, the politicians in New York took over 12 percent. Put another way, Assemblyman Weisenberg and the New York State Assembly preside over a system that takes $6 out of your paycheck for every $5 that the average state takes. That’s a choice that leaves New York’s families with less money and less time. But, it goes far beyond that, negatively impacting our quality of life.

When government spends more, individuals have less that they can use to save or start businesses, resulting in fewer jobs. When it’s harder for potential entrepreneurs to save enough money to get their businesses off the ground, fewer new businesses will start and bring jobs to New York. When Albany takes more, there are fewer dollars in the pockets of New Yorkers to nourish our businesses and we see empty storefronts, closed doors, and shuttered windows, because the Albany behemoth is gobbling up our job growth. Finally, when it’s harder for New Yorkers to save, because government is taking too much, there’s less money saved and deposited in your bank account. Less money in your local bank means less money available for small business and mortgage loans. What does this do? Taken together, too much taxing in New York means fewer jobs, less wealth in the economy, increased difficulty in providing for your family, and a harder time to get the financing to buy a home.

So, what do we have? What have our choices been? By electing tax-and-spend politicians who choose tax-and-spend regimes, we have allowed this system. We, in New York, have actually voted to have fewer new jobs and to make it harder for families to earn a living. We force parents to spend less time with their families, and make it harder to buy a home. Ultimately, these actions tell our children, when deciding where to start lives and families of their own, New York doesn’t really want you here. And, for those who think I’m exaggerating, the numbers speak for themselves.

During the last decade, 11.5 million New Yorkers have chosen to pack up and leave the state. And, this isn’t a short term trend. During the last three decades, New York State’s population has grown at an anemic 8%, while the populations of states without oppressive tax burdens have nearly doubled. Again, it’s about choices. When we choose the tax regime, we not only choose to send our children away, but we also choose to diminish our state. In 1989, New York had 34 Congressmen and 36 electoral votes. In November, when New Yorkers go to the polls to pick the next President, we will find ourselves with only 27 Congressmen to represent us, and only 29 electoral votes. On the other hand, Florida, a pro-growth state, which only had 19 Congressmen and 21 electoral votes in 1989, will be our equal. We chose to diminish ourselves.

The Empire State deserves better than this. We can choose to be a family-friendly state again. We can choose to lower taxes, cut spending, and reform programs and regulations to make New York the most attractive state in the nation for job creators. Think about it. We’re New York. We have the culture, the attraction, the scenery. We have beaches, mountains, and lakes that other states envy. We have Broadway and the Statue of Liberty. We are a place where people naturally want to be. The only reason for our failure is poor choices. So, let’s stop making them. Let’s choose success. I don’t pretend it’s easy. Sometimes difficult choices will be required, and when they are, I promise not to shy away from them.

I want to represent you in Albany and, when I do, my promise is to not be afraid to make the hard choices and to fight tirelessly for the reforms we need to make New York attractive to business so we create more jobs, and people want to move here again. As President Reagan learned with his 1981 tax cuts, not only does a business-friendly climate make an area attractive and allow for new growth, but when people are successful and their incomes go up, even at lower tax rates, they end up paying more in taxes, which means that, in the future, more painful cuts won’t be necessary. The best way to grow a state and make it a better place to live is to grow opportunity and the first step in growing opportunity is cutting taxes. After all, taxes are about choices.

Dr. Sussman has been a trustee on the Lawrence District School Board for 18 years. He is the Republican candidate for New York State Assembly in the 20th A.D.