"Tell us something we don't know!"
That was Gov. David Paterson's snarky response today to State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's report that the state has been using financial gimmicks to mask the deficit.
The DiNapoli report released on Monday said state lawmakers constantly move money around like a shell game, trying to mask the magnitude of New York's budget gap.
The report claimed that state lawmakers used a myriad of fiscal gimmicks to cover up the growing gaps between revenue and expenditures, and the end result is that the practices are entrenched and the state’s balance sheet has become almost immaterial.
During a radio appearance this morning, Paterson accused DiNapoli of complaining about the problem without offering solutions.
"Rather than saying, 'Oh look there's a fire!' what we need is advice for how to put the fire out," the Governor said.
We are awaiting a response from DiNapoli.
Local
The current budget for New York state now stands at around $9 billion, give or take a few hundred million.
The report released yesterday said governors and legislators have for years papered over the deficit, over-spent, siphoned cash from dedicated funds and shuffled money from account to account.
