Ravitch speaks out on budget
With the state budget nearly a month overdue, Governor Paterson continues to put pressure on the legislature to come up with a spending plan, even as his lieutenant governor is expressing growing frustration with the talks. Josh Robin has the story.
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NEW YORK STATE -- Soda sipping could be tasting extra sweet. Governor Paterson's tax proposal is all but a goner in Albany, says his lieutenant governor.
"Governor proposed some new revenues, biggest of which was a tax on, sugar tax, which everybody tells me in Albany has been successfully defeated, or at least has no chance of passing. That was the biggest revenue producer," said Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch.
The word came amid an intense lobbying blitz from the beverage industry. But the governor says not so fast. He's standing by it.
The governor is continuing to advocate for the tax on sugared beverages and it remains part of the broader budget negotiations.
Later in the day in a telephone interview, Ravitch said he's not giving up either.
Multiple sources call Ravitch increasingly frustrated, but others caution it's just with the legislature. After all, he is credited with helping end last summer's Senate coup, but nearly a year later, that chamber is still in the mire.
Both men insist they're on the same page.
"Obviously, people don't understand that the Lieutenant Governor and I are saying the same thing," said Paterson.
"The governor and I talk very, very frequently. Have meals together. We're very much in sync about this," said Ravitch.
Like Ravitch, Paterson isn't in sync with the legislature. He's about to give them a choice between furloughing state workers or shutting down state government altogether. He notched up the war of words after a speech Thursday.
"What I'm really trying to do more than anything else is to discipline the legislature and even those affected to the emergency," Paterson said.
It struck one leading assemblyman as offensive.
"We need dialogue, we need relationships, we don't need polarization and name calling," said Assemblyman Vito Lopez.