Paterson: New York Has Now Run Out of Cash

Governor David "Downer" Paterson was at the Museum of American Finance on Wall Street earlier today to talk about how screwed New York is. He called the state "ground zero for the recession" and said, "We have a ‘lack of cash’ crisis in this state. We are in a very deep quagmire. New York is now at the breaking point. We are about to cross the financial Rubicon into fiscal disaster." To bail water, Paterson promised to begin delaying payments for services in order to keep the state solvent. And he's ready to defend the stop-payments in court.

"I will probably be sued for this, but I will not let New York State run out of money on my watch," Paterson said to a group of civic, business and labor leaders. "People will remember who stood in this financial period and tried to address it and who buried their head in the sand." Some Democrats and advocacy groups have said that impounding the money would be "illegal," and vowed to sue. (The $2.7 billion gap-closing plan approved by the Legislature is $500 million short.) "The governor is trying to force a constitutional crisis to get his poll numbers up," one Senate Democrat tells the Post. "It's a very dangerous game."

Paterson also stepped up to defend Wall Street firms that have been heavily criticized for continuing to pay large bonuses to employees. He maintained that in most cases the bonuses help compensate for the relatively low pay doled out to some in the financial industry! "We need to stand behind the engine of our economy in New York, and that engine of the economy is Wall Street... People in Michigan stood behind the engine of their economy. You don’t hear anybody in New England complaining about clam chowder. You don’t hear anybody in Maryland complaining about crab cakes. If you say anything about corn in Iowa, they’ll run you out of town. If you say anything about oil in Texas, they’ll string you up near the nearest tree." So shut up about Wall Street's bail out and bonuses, or face the lynch mob!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on December 9, 2009 3:23 PM

Comments [rss]

001majibur

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merlinthefiend

I don't mean to be rude, but has Paterson even looked at the full budget on paper? Oh, wait... uh...

gawkthis

don't complain? new yorkers shouldn't kvetch?

someone needs to remind the gov which city and state he represents:

"What am I supposed to do, go on television and tell ten million people they have to be nice to each other? (Complaining and) treating other people like dirt is every New Yorker's right." -- Ghostbusters 2

potsmoker

the poor will always be poor,

its only news when the rich are less richer.

bring bank the "drop dead new york" era and let the natives take back the streets and make life richer.

potsmoker

i lived in maryland and toiled all year making crabcakes, when the crabcake market tanked i didnt get my six figure bonus that helped support the lifestyle that my family has grown accustomed to!

JenChungsBaby

That's because you ate more than you made.

ANGRYGOD11

Patterson is such a disappointment because he had the freedom to make the tough choices, but didn't. Other states facing deficits already went to work and cut the public sector. Albany nor City Hall has slashed the bloated public sector and won't do so, until it's too late.

Kojak

Patterson doesn't have the heft as a Governor should due to his low approval rating. Its the State senate that has to act on the budget.

ANGRYGOD11

It varies from state to state, but all state legislatures have the final say over taxing and spending. New York isn't doing a good job compared to other large states and Patterson can, but didn't, make a difference.

zodak

"I will not let New York State run out of money on my watch."

rotflmao

(cause he's blind)

felixthecat2

What kind or person would steal from the blind?

felixthecat0

GET YOUR OWN NAME KITTYHATER!!!!

newport27

couldn't bloomberg have donated the $100 mil he spent on buying his third term to the New York he "loves" so much?

New York "state" is in deficit but we all know it's mainly the liability of New York City

I know what NY needs.. an all-out-war, political revolution

theevilone

Bonuses = tax revenue. Keep 'em coming. And Wall Street did not do this by themselves. You can bundle crappy mortgages into a financial product unless someone is entering into said crappy mortgages. There's plenty of blame to go around.

newport27

bullshit, you're trying to diffuse the blame over a larger spectrum than reality

I personally know people in both finance and mortgage and I understand how they have been functioning in the past several years. Lots, lots, lots of scheming and corruption, and intentionally targetting intellectually challenged lower-class communities (blacks and latinos). It is only right to say wall st and affiliated finance/mortgage firms deserve most of the blame.

Kojak

Thank you. This should've been said a long time ago.

tijuanatornado

I find it funny you think I trust a corrupt government when I called them clowns, crooks and corrupt. And I mentioned members of the senate, legislature, governor's office (past administrations) and a senator at the federal level.

I am not defending Paterson at all, if you knew a little bit about state finances you'd knew we are screwed.

But stay on the bandwagon against wall street, that's what's really important. This is NOT about Wall Street bonuses at all.

Finally, you call me out for trusting a corrupt government?

So what makes you trust the 500M number? Don't you know that all they did was reallocate funds, move money from one area to another and did NOT come up with new money at all but changed the allocations as to not have to stop payments now but in three months?

Please, get your reading done before making a comment.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aypDnAmJIZHI&pos=7

BDS=(Boycott.Divest.Sanction)

truthfully, I stopped reading after the 1st paragraph.

fine we agree that the ny govt is corrupt.

we dont agree about the wall st bashing. I believe, from experience that most 7 figure executuves are rouge criminals out to profit for themselves at the expense of share holders. they have so much largess and power they've usurped our entire democracy and the petty little people have no voice whatsoever. they shouldnt get bonuses, they should be sent to jail.

tijuanatornado

Funny how all of you avoided making any comment on the finances of the state. Anyone who follows state finances has know for a while that unless radical steps were taken NY would be the next California.

Albany SUCKS, regardless of Paterson's unfortunate remarks the fact is that the state ran out of money and we have a legislative branch that is full of crooks (Sheldon, Espada, Diaz, Monserrate, etc.) not to mention other gems like Rangel, Bruno and Spitzer.

We truly have the government we deserve if we keep these clowns in office.

BDS=(Boycott.Divest.Sanction)

Bullshit. the NY defcit is 500 MILLION. the california deficit is projected to be btwn 20 and 42 BILLION. Not the same thing, at all.

Stop being such a shill and THINK a little before TRUSTING a corrupt goverment. What Patterson says about Wall st deserving bonus shows how corrupt he is. take away the bonuses from the goldman and you'd plug the defecit 10x. the goverment CAN do that, but alas Goldman runs our CORRUPT goverment so it wont happen.