News Copy, New York

Runaway Spending Amendment Re-Match?

Return of the Runaway Spending Amendment?

The Central New York State Blog had this information:

"Some quick words on the aftermath of Props 1 and 2. I heard on the radio last night that Sheldon Silver is preparing yet another version of Prop 1, target date 2007."

If you're a New York political junkie, this is almost as good as the Star Wars trilogy.

If you're a Democrat, this is the scene where you lock Uncle Shelly away in the basement while Eliot Spitzer is running for Governor of New York State.  Of course, Republican have their Uncle Joey, the State Senate Majority Leader, and his friend Dennis the Menace.

The real problem is that Dennis Rivera of 1199 is friends with too many politicians on both sides of the aisle.

NYCO's Blog gets into this mess as well as we could, including some humorous observations on the Democrats:

This is shaping up to be a battle royale between Silver and the presumed future governor, Eliot Spitzer (who appeared on the Colbert Report the other night and was terrific - then again, Colbert wasn’t exactly hard on him). Or rather, The Battle Royale between the Boss and the Great Pumpkin Reformer

Now Silver is not really the Boss, and maybe Spitzer is not really the Reformer, but one gets the sense that everyone in New York wishes to tumble into this mythologic struggle once again.

...And we hear at least two promising candidates, one from each major party, have been faithfully auditioning for the part of Luke Skywalker.

Just maybe Pat Manning and Tom Suozzi can join forces somehow to really teach Eliot Spitzer a thing or two about reform.

Silver's Complaint

Tom Precious of The Buffalo News documented this commentary by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, whose bitterness mirrored Bruno.

Silver said voters "were rather confused" by newspaper editorial boards that falsely depicted it as a power play between the branches.

That's Silver's Governor, next to Dennis Rivera's friend and the "worst politician" in America, according to Bill O'Reilly.

He said the only good news "is that this governor won't be there anymore, so hopefully the next governor will focus on getting a budget on time and recognize the role of the Legislature in that process."

After Eliot Spitzer figures out how to find the other 90 percent of Medicaid fraud.

We're not impressed.

Stopping Albany From Itself

"The Runaway Spending Amendment completely undermines the governor's power to control what we spend and gives the Legislature even greater power to spend money we don’t have, raise taxes that should be cut, and borrow even more money from future generations of New Yorkers."

Assemblyman Patrick Manning

News Copy editor Bob Fois had the following column on the Runaway Spending Amendment, on the politics of it all in our State Capitol:

The Politics of Proposal One

Amid a flurry of editorials condemning it, a ballot referendum undermining the governor’s budget authority seems doomed to pass today, Election Day. The Albany cookie jar would then belong to Shelly Silver and Joe Bruno, two big spenders who have budgeted $12.1 billion more than Governor Pataki over the past ten years.

Categorizing the authors of the Runaway Spending Amendment as bank robbers, former Governor Hugh Carey warned that “voter apathy or inattention” could lead to the passage of Proposal One.

So will the politics.

Governor Pataki opposes the Constitutional change but he’s been tame with his party. Attorney General Elliot Spitzer has the same problem, as do most of next year’s statewide hopefuls. Fear of breaking lucrative deals or facing the wrath of the “two men in the room” has limited the opposition to this radical spending amendment.

Those cozy with the leadership have said nothing to defeat the Runaway Spending Amendment. The rest are held in abeyance by an arcane set of rules.

The Brennan Center for Justice warned us last year. Leaders rode the reform horse for a few months, threw us a bone (an end to empty seat voting) but ignored nineteen other valid recommendations. Lawmakers must be present when they vote but the bosses can still take away their pencils if they don’t behave.

Actually, the intimidation encompasses far more than office stationary.

When you beg to differ with the leadership or their empowered staff, local funding suddenly vanishes. Bills get buried in committee. Staff gets fired. Take the fight to the press and you’re procedurally muted. The leadership can shake anyone down by cutting a relative’s job, curtailing a candidate’s fundraising or killing an endorsement.

However, the worst part is that Bruno and Silver are knee-jerk parliamentarians who use century-old methods to circumvent democracy and reform. The Executive Budget was instituted in the 1920s to centrally counter these same Tammany clubhouse rules, yet they’re stubbornly in effect after 80 years!!!

Donna Arduin, a deputy Budget Director from Pataki’s first term, warned last week that Proposal One “would let legislators throw away the governor's budget — the only portion that is subject to public scrutiny — and write their version behind closed doors.”

Respected nationwide for her fiscal oversight in California, Michigan and Florida, Arduin complained that New York still resists transparency, accountability and self-control.

“Throughout the country, strong economies and fiscally responsible budgets have one thing in common: restraint.”

Sixteen other states require a legislative supermajority to raise taxes. Colorado requires that all tax increases get voter approval, as do tax hikes over certain amounts in Missouri and Washington. States with constitutional tax and spending limits show better economic performance than states like New York that crave taxation and abhor budgetary limits.

Bruno is gambling on partisan control and a lot of deals. “…Now you want your project? You want other things? You have to negotiate.”

Silver is gambling on Democrats grabbing control of State Senate next year and keeping it that way with re-districting. Both men are counting on a lot of spending. Republicans and Democrats alike fear reprisals.

Except for Assemblyman Patrick Manning, GOP gubernatorial hopefuls were quiet all summer on Proposal One. Manning publicly differed with Bruno but his primary protest concerned Speaker Silver over spending and control of committees.

Silver’s response was to fire one of Manning’s staff, ironically through the Republican-controlled Assembly Minority. That same day, an appearance by Manning on Bill O’Reilly’s program to discuss the State Legislature was abruptly cancelled.

Manning continues to campaign against the spending amendment but his experience underlines the obstacles to reform.

Voters might even pass Proposal One but the politics of runaway spending will still be with us. Until we change the rules, nothing changes in New York.

Spitzer Lends Cover

News Copy commended Matt Maguire of the Business Council's Upstate Blog last week but we're disappointed by his overt consideration of Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

Wall Street Journal Tears Into Spitzer

The Wall Street Journal came down very hard against Proposal One.  The editors then came down even harder on Spitzer.

"Notably unhelpful has been Democratic candidate for governor, Eliot Spitzer, who'll say he's opposed if asked but hasn't shown any leadership. This will haunt Mr. Spitzer if he wins, because Prop One is a power grab by the legislature that would limit the governor's ability to veto spending bills."

Now there is no denying Spitzer did the right thing in opposing the Runaway Spending Amendment.  He has spoken out against it more than most Republicans.  The only problem is that he has not said a word about his fellow Democrats.  Spitzer has done nothing but lend significant cover to the Democrats supporting this expensive measure, particularly Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver who he has only appeared with at press conference in good cheer.

This partly explained The Wall Street Journal's annoyance.

Albany Eats Its Young

The editors are obviously also concerned about what could only be described as a malaise in Albany, a political gridlock that has neutered democracy in our State Capitol.

Assemblyman Patrick Manning had his own thoughts on Tuesday's referendum.  He's been posting daily essays and opinion pieces about this proposed change to the State Constitution every weekday since June -- though getting little media attention.

As we also stated last week, in many instances New York's political establishment has seen to it that true reformers are ignored by the media.  It's the kind of cheap and dishonest "Peyton Place" trash talk not worth the supermarket line, let alone elected officials responsible for the correct handling of billions of tax dollars.

Manning has been speaking against Proposal One to groups throughout Upstate New York State, non-stop since July.  He even admitted to Business Council members at their annual forum that he had initially voted for the spending amendment and apologized for voting against the Governor's veto.

He said plainly that he had made a mistake.

This is the kind of candor and courage New York needs, desperately.  Manning's a reasonable fellow, a true conservative Republican who has gained little from his enterprise fighting against the Runaway Spending Amendment.  What he has earned is our respect and a growing following throughout New York State.

The Other Party

He's a true foil to Long Island's new Democrat, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, and the good news here is that 2006 will future two true reformers running statewide in both major parties.  It's a glimmer of hope for those of us who know how flawed the operation of government has been maintained since former Governor Hugh Carey left the Executive Chamber in 1978.

No surprise that Carey opposes Proposal One, as did former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and former Governor Mario Cuomo.  Even Cuomo... yet Manning stood alone among his own peers this summer.

Manning was the only member of the State Legislature speaking up against Proposal One but strangely Eliot Spitzer was handed more media attention every single time he uttered a sentence.

Of course, he's Eliot Spitzer!!! We shouldn't be surprised at the media fawning at his every word.  This will change very soon, as Suozzi begins what some expect will be a re-direction of State Democrats.

The irony here is that the Republicans are very late in realizing what 2006 could bring, audaciously so.

The following statement this morning by the Upstate Blog about the Wall Street Journal editorial shocked us here at News Copy:

"The editorial also criticizes—unfairly, in our view—state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, saying he has done relatively little to oppose this.  The attorney general has spoken out early, often, emphatically, and in many ways. His message has been clear: Proposal One would be bad for New York State and New Yorkers regardless of who is governor."

Only one mention of Pat Manning by the Upstate Blog over the past six months by this same blog -- Yet Spitzer has been publicized every single time he has spoken.

One could guess they never bothered to read the Assemblyman's daily blog.  Maybe they never heard him speak?  Could it be they just never got around to reading any of his Op-Eds?  The sad truth, in our opinion, is that competitive envy and wariness polarized them.

Albany has a habit of never helping someone good enough to change the way the State Capitol does business.  The moment anyone with any talent threatens to become big enough to improve government in New York, an inter-nacien habit kicks in. They disregard the upstarts, even make up stories about them to bury their political future.

Fred Dicker expressed this political killing off of Pataki's farm team(s) this summer. 

Well... Pat Manning is no upstart.  He's 40 years old and part of a generation at the gates, except we fear Albany's stubborn establishment must almost be completely destroyed before it can gain any renewal.  Perhaps Suozzi can assist Manning in a way no state has ever witnessed before.

Too Little, Too Late

Whatever comes of 2006, it will be unlike anything America has ever seen before.

If Prop. 1 passes, it will be the Republican Party's fault.  Efforts were all too little, too late.

Also questionable has been the lack of criticism by Republican and Conservative leaders of B. Thomas Golisano, the "independent" who has been silent on Proposal One...

Jeanine Pirro has, in our opinion, been tragically led astray by her handlers on this issue.  She's been mute on the subject.  Far be it from the RNC to tap her on the shoulder? (though it's not like New York's two U.S. Senators, Clinton and Schumer, show any courage against Sheldon Silver).

...And while Pat Manning has carefully aimed his fire at the leadership in Albany, daring to disagree and constructively criticize State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (at risk to his political future), and directly blame Sheldon Silver (at risk to everyone working in his Assembly offices), no such comments have come from any other Republican statewide candidate.

William Weld and John Faso were late to this ball, defering to silence for much of the summer.  Randy Daniels at least had some comments against it, though his greater efforts came late.  He was ignored by the media as much as Manning over the past two weeks.

The Curious Mr. Faso

John Faso's stance has been baffling, though we are learning quickly why so little of George Pataki's reforms survived in the Assembly during Faso's tenure.

In a well-publicized New York Post column, the former Assembly Minority Leader could only refer to the problem in Albany as the "State Legislature" and provided little else that we found substantive.

No longer captive within the Legislature, Faso did not speak like a free man.  He's a lobbyist now, maybe less free than when he was under the thumb of the autocratic Silver.

Manning is only joined by Democrat Tom Suozzi in directly going after Albany's internal woes, though Suozzi stopped short of what the Wall Street Journal stated today.

The fear in Albany of offending party and legislative leaders is palpable.  The usefulness of the State Legislature was questioned last year by the Brennan Center yet an initial flurry of reform was just as quickly extinguished.

No one knows whether or not Prop. 1 will be defeated.

The shame here is that fiscal reformers had a true messenger from within the State Legislature to rely on.  His name was Pat Manning.  Reformers also had a Democrat named Tom Suozzi to consider, certainly more credibly than Eliot Spitzer.  Since Manning belongs in a political party rumored to be conservative, State GOP leaders seemingly abdicated their own party platform this summer in lending only lip service to the Dutchess County native.

Some were either ignorant to the six-term Assemblyman's efforts or willfully disregarded his diligent work.

One can only float so many excuses for the lack of interest by supposedly balanced newspapers like The New York Post and The New York Sun.  The Conservative Party has spent the better part of a decade being the lame apologist for George Pataki.  Perhaps we should not be surprised how this all might turn out Tuesday.

Albany's a mess right now.  New York State's political establishment is suffering from itself and its willful delusions.

2006 is going to be a rough year, especially if this hero worship of Eliot Spitzer continues, but it is only going to be rougher if the other side of the aisle keeps patronizing itself.

Push to Defeat Prop. 1

Binghamton's Press & Sun Bulletin had the following story on Proposal 1:

State budget proposal stirs strong debate
Some call proposition good reform, others see legislative power grab

It's a blur to most people though we hope it fails by the weight of its words (240).

Republican State Senate Majorirty Leader Joe Bruno supports it, as do most of the lemmings following him over the cliff.

Statewide hopefuls Tom Golisano and Jeanine Pirro have been silent.  U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton have no comment.  As silent are State Comptroller Alan Hevesi and New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson.

The lone soul from the State Legislature actively opposing this referendum has been Assemblyman Pat Manning, who is also running for Governor, and he is also the only statewide candidate daring to publicly differ with the leadership in Albany.

News Copy learned the campaigns of Pat Manning and Randy Daniels that The New York Post wouldn't print their Op-Eds against Proposal 1, ignoring Daniels completely, yet opted instead to highlight latecomer William Weld and print an Op-Ed by John Faso that failed to make any mention of the problematic leadership in the State Assembly.

News Copy finds this a bit shameful for two reasons:

First, Faso as former Assembly Minority Leader knew better than to defer to silence about Sheldon Silver or Joe Bruno.

Second, Faso had the least to lose since he is no longer in the State Legislature -- yet he was silent all summer.

Most honest observers of this situation commend Pat Manning for his courage and hard work the past six months to defeat the Runaway Spending Amendment.

Take a look at Stand Tall New York (http://www.standtallnewyork.org).

Upstate Bloggers

News Copy is a few days away from implementing a cohesive coverage of New York State, networking together the blogs Upstate with those closer to New York City or within the five boroughs.

The idea of forging a blog network that allows discussion on statewide issues between residents of Upstate with those inhabiting suburbia or New York City is not a new one.  There are bound to be several "all of New York" locations in the coming months.

We like the look of NYCO's Blog in Central New York.  It reminds me of where I spent my summers upstate, the Unadilla River Valley, not far from Norwich in Chenango County and Sidney near the borders of Chenango, Otsego and Delaware Counties.

The Money Against Prop. 1

Money flows as lines form over two ballot issues:  The Buffalo News

Tom Precious talks about the growing citizen's revolt against both referendums, including the Transportation Bond Issue.

New Yorkers to Change Albany, which has been sending a big display of a pink pig around the state to symbolize the amount of pork barrel spending they think Proposal One will create, brought in $100,000 in a single contribution from Russell Carson, a partner in a money management firm in Manhattan, and $100,000 from a real estate firm run by Howard Rich, a New York landlord. And $65,000 came from two prominent conservatives - Richard Gilder and Charles Brunie.

Pat Manning's group Stand Tall New York has also been barnstorming the state, calling into local radio shows and helping to promote the Big Big.

Conservative millionaires financing anti-amendment pink pig

Newsday had this story on a group of concerned citizens who are truly "mad as hell and not going to take it anymore":

"We're just political ideologues, so to speak, with no interest other than just trying to get New York state (going) in a direction that we think is really where it needs to be headed," Marshall Stocker, an Ithaca-based investment executive working with the group, told The Associated Press.

The contributors to the anti-amendment effort are Howard Rich, a New York City-based businessman and president of U.S. Term Limits ($100,000 through a real estate corporation); Russell Carson, a partner in a Manhattan-based private investment firm ($100,000); stockbroker Richard Gilder ($50,000); and Oppenheimer Capital founder Charles Brunie ($15,000).

News Copy has noted that many of the backers of the anti-amendment effort are former donors to the Change NY organization that so actively back George Pataki in his early Gubernatorial efforts.

C-Span has been contacted by volunteers, though News Copy was surprised to learn that C-Span apparently prioritizes its coverage for only nationally-related events.

What a pity that a fiscal revolution in the Empire State is not viewed as a nationally-related event.

Late Ballot Battle

My own column against the Runaway Spending Amendment has been submitted, though my honest assessment is that its words will fall between the cracks.  Of course, my opinion sounds more like a eulogy.

I believe it's going to pass.  This time the media and the good government groups waited too long to react to what has been an inevitable end since May.  Maybe it is a lesson the state as a whole has to learn.  Maybe next year has to happen, so that New York never again dabbles so irresponsibly with spending initiatives.

News Copy took a closer look at Joseph Spector's story in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle -- and we're disappointed.

State budget battle brewing

Voters will decide whether to shift some power to legislators.

Spector talks about the laundry list of people opposing the Election Day referendum, except we don't feel he aims his fire.

Several fiscal watchdog groups, former governors Mario Cuomo and Hugh Carey and Democratic gubernatorial candidate state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer join Pataki in opposition of the measure.

No mention of the other Republicans objecting to this Constitutional change -- and the Republicans who either failed to utter a word or waited until the last minute.

But most of the state Legislature, civic groups and labor unions back the proposition, saying it would provide needed budget reform. Until last year, the state Legislature hadn't approved an on-time budget in 20 years, producing statewide disgust over the dysfunction in Albany.

"The current situation has been a formula for stalemate," said Assemblywoman Susan John, D-Rochester, who backs the proposal.

John said moving back the fiscal year and requiring a contingency budget if a new budget isn't approved would "provide an incentive for the governor and the Legislature to get the budget done on time."

Next year is going to be ruthless, for both parties, and count on members of either major political establishment regretting they never said a word.

Count on the working press blaming them -- but not blaming themselves for being so late on such a critical issue.

It's going to pass.  Next year's budget will be late and then everyone will "negotiate" all the way to Election Day.

Cablevision Backs Spending Amendment

Cablevision Gives $500,000 To Budget Amendment Effort:  WNBC

The Dolan family should find a new hobby.

Records on file with the state Board of Elections on Wednesday showed Cablevision subsidiary CSC Holdings gave the huge contribution late last week to Budget Reform Now! The group is financing an effort to have New Yorkers approve Proposition 1 on the Nov. 8 ballot, a state constitutional amendment that would shift state budget-making power to the Legislature at the governor's expense.

Cablevision must need a law passed in Albany.

It's not budget reform.

Perhaps New York's voters will resist being conned over the next six days.  I'm skeptical. Frankly, I don't believe the taxpayers of New York fully fully grasp what's ahead.  If they did, people would be rioting.

Next year, people will be rioting.

We're edging closer to a statewide tax revolt.

State budget battle brewing: Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

Even Cuomo

Even Mario Cuomo is opposing the Runaway Spending Amendment, joined by William Weld, but everyone is too late in stopping this expensive Constitutional Change.

Gubernatorial hopeful Pat Manning is still out there, campaigning all over the State against Proposal 1, yet the working press has handed more attention to two liberals who had done nothing to stop the referendum from passing.

Too little, too late and News Copy is predicting it passes.

We're also predicting next year will be a fiscal nightmare.

Manning spoke to his local Poughkeepsie Journal in Dutchess County.  A Republican hopeful running for Governor, the six-term Assemblyman from East Fishkill also joined Tuesday's "Stop the Pork" swing through the area.

Stop the Pork is the Big Pig driving throughout the state to remind New Yorkers about Albany's spending habits.

"It guarantees late budgets and higher taxes," Manning said of the proposal. "It's a sham. It's a scam. It's not budget reform. It's budget deform."

Unaccountable Albany

Charlie Chaplin would have done to Albany what he did to the industrial revolution in Modern Times.

New York's fiscal crisis could be solved overnight by suspending the rules in the State Legislature, akin to what emergency fiscal control boards have done to local municipalities.

Former first deputy budget director Donna Arduin, who has been now Arnold's fiscal guru in California, penned a perfect lobby back at the Runaway Spending Amendment (RSA) with an Op-Ed entitled "Two Men in the Room" in today's New York Post.

Also called Prop. 1, Proposition 1 and Proposal One, this 240 word referendum demonstrates how little two of the notorious "three men in the room" trust the voters.

Karen DeWitt of Northeast Public Radio noted this verbose puzzle:

Wording of Budget Amendment Daunting

I'll have much more to say in the next week about this pathetic power grab by Bruno and Silver, including possibly a few Op-Eds of my own.

In the meantime, the best source of information against the Runaway Spending Amendment can be found at three locations on the web:

The Manhattan Institute's Empire Center, run by E.J. McMahon

The Public Policy Institute's HighTaxesNewYork.com, backed by The Business Council of New York State (also, http://UpstateBlog.net)

Stand Tall New York, coordinated by Gubernatorial hopeful Patrick Manning

There are a handful of other good sites, including Tom Suozzi's Fix Albany, but the above three groups have been doing a yeoman's job of warning the public.

The left and the right idealogically are against this Constitutional referendum too, including Governor George E. Pataki, Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, former Governor Hugh Carey, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and State Conservative chairman Mike Long.

Carey's critique in the Post last week was pure poetry.  Those old political war horses sure know how to talk.  Arduin's pithy assessment is one pretty piece of prose too. 

Patrick Manning re-stated his own ideas on spending and tax reform this week entitled "The Awful Truth" that is also good reading, particularly since he lists some of the fiscal solutions being tried in other states. 

A previous column by Stand Tall New York, "A Lack of Accountability" digs right into Albany's problems with details and statistics.

Actually, both Stand Tall New York and the Upstate Blog (moderated by the Business Council's Matt Maguire) offer daily coverage on fiscal and government reform issues throughout New York State.

Ray Keating's recent column in Newsday on New York's tax plight hammered away at the State Capitol's backward approach to addition and subtraction.

My observation is that the Governor had not done enough.  He should have been campaigning against it, like Manning and McMahon, but at least now he's speaking out.

Pataki Voices Strong Opposition To Proposal 1:  The North Country Gazette

My take on this issue, so far, is that Democrats are stealing the reform glow from Republicans because the GOP is too afraid of pissing off State Senate Majority Joseph Bruno.

I would like to see Spitzer kick Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in the ass on this one, except it's hard to go after Elliot when most Republican are sitting on their hands in silence.

The only rebel is Manning, whose Stand Tall New York coined it "Closed Door Anarchy" this morning.

The bad news is that recent polls show New Yorkers in favor of a Constitutional change, with a higher enough percentage undecided to shift the outcome on Election Day either way.

Hidden Referendum

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle story discusses a November referendum that has gone unnoticed by most the the press until recently:

A poll by Quinnipiac University on a referendum that would change overall budget authority from the Governor to the State Legislature is favored by New Yorkers 48 to 33 percent.

It's a hidden referendum to spend, a wolf in sheep's clothing and a real power grab by our State legislative leaders.

Gubernatorial hopeful Pat Manning warns that it is not what New York's precarious budget process needs at the moment.

The Business Council has called it the "runaway spending amendment" because lawmakers have historically spent much more than the governor.  The change would allow them ways to dodge the Governor's veto and pass an uncountered number of appropriations' bills.

What's really the problem with Proposition 1?

The rules of the State Legislature don't allow for any fiscal "circuit-breakers" or democratic consensus among lawmakers.  The rules are designed to expand how much money lawmakers can grab for free-wheeling political projects.  In a different system, Manning argues, the Legislature might be able to right itself but he is harshly critical of the present leadership.

Manning called it Albany's Autocratic Rule. 

He actually sounded as if he might accept such a State Constitutional change, if the State Legislature acted like a legislature.

"We don't yet want to hand greater control of the budget process to the State Legislature until each of 20 reforms suggested by the Brennan Center are thoroughly addressed. 

If Bruno and Silver want control of the budget process, they should earn it by establishing a new level of freedom, accountability and transparency in the operation of their legislative bodies."

With a month left, it looks likely that this hidden referendum is going to pass.

It seems ironic that in a year where plenty of noisy candidates have fallen over each other to supposedly save New York, only one statewide candidate is taking the time -- and the trouble -- to defeat a corrupted Constitional change on November's ballot.

Not Faso, not Daniels, not Weld, not Golisano or any "mystery candidate" has lobbied publicly and aggressively against the will of his leadership like Manning.  Not even Spitzer, who dances delightfully with Sheldon Silver, has shown the gumption to challenge his own party the way Manning did last Friday.

Pat Manning's fight against the Runaway Spending Amendment is a worthy one.

Proposition must be defeated in November or New Yorkers face more monies being picked from their pockets every tax day.