President Obama outlined his plan for deficit reduction today, calling for $4 trillion to be cut over 12 years, with spending cuts and tax increases. And he blasted the Republicans' deficit-reduction plans (Rep. Paul Ryan's "Path to Prosperity") which include tax breaks to the rich and corporations, "In the last decade, the average income of the bottom 90 percent of all working Americans actually declined. Meanwhile, the top 1 percent saw their income rise by an average of more than a quarter of a million dollars each. That’s who needs to pay less taxes? They want to give people like me a $200,000 tax cut that’s paid for by asking 33 seniors to each pay $6,000 more in health costs. That’s not right, and that’s not going to happen as long as I’m president." more ›

Yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Assembly Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos announced a tentative budget deal that would make huge cuts to Medicaid and education spending—and not involve any new taxes—to keep the budget to $132.5 billion. The NY Times notes a number of firsts, "The agreement, five days before the March 31 budget deadline, offered the prospect of Albany’s first on-time budget in five years. If enacted by lawmakers, the deal would cut the state’s overall year-to-year spending for the first time in more than a decade." more ›

that in exchange for the checks, the Council agreed to raise both the property tax (by 7%) and hotel room tax. The Staten Island Advance says, "If the city's Department of Finance begins printing them immediately, homeowners should receive their rebate checks shortly after the new year, around the same time they will get their new property tax bills." The NY Times also adds that Bloomberg will not cut $20 million from the budget and some Council members expect to vote on the agreement today (though they warned that the deal could collapse). Some numbers: The property rebate checks cost the city $256 million; raising the property taxes to 7% in January (instead of June, as previously planned) means an additional $600 million for the fiscal year; and the hotel room tax hike brings an additional $100 million between March 2009 and June 2010. more ›

The City Council really wants its homeowning constituents to get their $400 property rebate checks, though Mayor Bloomberg prefers to cancel them, given the city's impending budget crisis. According to the Daily News, "City council leaders say they can save taxpayers money and preserve homeowners' $400 rebate by cutting spending on police recruiting and standardized test prep in schools, and eliminating grass clippings from city garbage pickups." City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said that the suggested cuts would save $170 million, which still doesn't cover the $256 million the property rebate checks cost. Still, Quinn said, "No one in [City Hall] sadly believes that this is the last round of cuts, so let's get ahead of the game and make as many cuts as we can that don't erode core services." more ›