Lying to the Public Again

So the Democrat and Chronicle opines this morning that County Executive Brooks needs more public input -- perhaps another budget commission such as she assembled in 2004 -- to advise on fixing the County's looming budget problem.   Fine.   Great idea.

Now, let's suppose ...

•   that the new public input consists exclusively of brilliant solutions no one ever came up with before;

•   that 100% of these new solutions are practical and do-able and

•   that the County has the power to implement all of them;

•   that, once in place, all of these solutions will be immediately effective;

•  that every one of the new solutions will attain or exceed their goals for cost saving.

And if every one of those things were true   --   then the County would still be stuck with nearly all of the deficit problem it has now.

Because the County government only has control over 19% of its own budget!

The State dictates the other 81%.   And its in that 81% that the structural deficit resides!

Yet the D&C's editorial conveniently fails to mention that fact.

We know this newspaper's agenda, and how it operates.   If it were honest, and actually interested in seeing an end to County budget woes, it would be calling not for public input, but for public action and protest to get Albany to repatriate Monroe County's budget to Monroe County  --  to give the County control over its entire budget.

Because that's the only thing that's going to repair the budget problem of this, and every other county in the State of New York.   As the administration of every county, whether Democratic or Republican, will tell you.

Yet the Democrat and Chronicle carefully omits any mention of this central, overwhelming fact of life of the County budget:   that the State controls nearly all of it and hands us the bill.   To neglect it is to attempt to mislead the public.

As the Democrat and Chronicle has done, once more, today.