Paterson Considers Leasing Thruway, Tappan Zee, Lottery

Governor David Paterson, who has been sounding the alarms over the state's budget, has created a commission to study leasing state assets to private contractors. The AP says that the state's "golf courses, the toll highway network, parks, beaches and bridges" would be fair game. And the state lottery is attractive enough to apparently garner, per the Post, "$4 billion up front to the state and $200 million a year after that for higher education." Paterson, who will get specific recommendations early next year (in time for his budget), said, "I believe the private sector can be a source of innovation, allowing us to increase the value, efficiency and safety of assets like our aging infrastructure system."