The Big Lie -- But By Whom?

The negative attack mailings sent out by Democratic candidates for County Legislature this year surprise us. The mailings (apparently the same in all districts) claim that Maggie Brooks's FAIR plan takes away about $14 million worth of tax credits that go directly to taxpayers in the towns. We're surprised at that because Brooks and other Republican leaders have insisted publicly, and in terms that for politicians are unusually ironclad and loophole-free, that the Democratic claim is flat-out untrue.

So either the Democrats are employing the Big Lie technique, or Brooks is.

We see on today's Democrat and Chronicle website that Brooks is going to present her 2008 budget this afternoon. The money to fund the tax credit either will be in the budget, meaning that it's the Democratic candidates who are deploying the Big Lie, or it won't be in the budget, meaning that it's the Brooks plan that contains the Big Lie.

Based on statements of various Democratic legislators in the press, if they're using correct figures, we should be able to tell the truth tonight from the numbers:   if the new budget provides $41 million for the credit, it means the Democrats are right (because that's $14 million less than the amount needed to continue the credit fully). If the new budget provides $55 million for the credit, it means Brooks is living up to her promise and taxpayers will, after all, continue to get the full tax credits.

Therefore:

$41 million = Brooks has been lying

$55 million = Democrats have been lying

If there's no mention of the credit or the numbers that support it, or if Brooks fudges on the issue, we'll suspect it's because her plan really doesn't continue the credit.