Cuomo's Tax Plan Comes Out of the Blue

Loyal longtime reader Erland has asked for my take on Andrew Cuomo's new tax plan. You'll be forgiven if you didn't hear about this startling piece of news, Cuomo had spent much of the year swearing that all tax hikes were out of the question. No more than two weeks ago, he told interviewers that his fiscal plans were merely to try and establish fairness in the tax code. All of a sudden he put forth a massive overhaul of state tax, that was wide ranging, and included a "millionaire's tax" which Cuomo had been an outspoken opponent of.

I'm a fan of the new tax code, which creates a new tax bracket for the highest income residents, lowers taxes for many middle class families, provides 50 Million for an inner city jobs plan, as well as a myriad of other changes. The deal seems fair and Cuomo should be applauded for passing the seemingly controversial legislation in amidst the gridlock that is New York State politics. Still there is something seemingly undemocratic about it. Cuomo jammed through the legislation behind closed doors, he held no public debate, no citizen town halls, and it seems like many state lawmakers understand little about what is in the actual law. New York politics has long been dominated by "three men in a backroom," the assembly speaker, the senate majority leader, and the Governor, and Cuomo has made this sort of backroom dealing and arm twisting a hallmark of his style of governance. Cuomo is being lauded on both sides of the aisle, and many view this victory as positioning the Governor for a White House run in 2016. Perhaps this is where politics is heading, a few people deciding the fate of legislation in backrooms, cordoned off from the politically engaged. We've already seen with the debt limit debate earlier this year, that party leadership is often not on the same page with their caucuses, at least in Washington.

While my view is that Cuomo's tax bill is a good thing, I can only imagine the anger I would feel if I was on the other side. Cuomo is one of these big proponents of sunshine in government, like Obama, who shy away from sunshine when they are in control.