Albany

The Political Wall of Silence: Not One Pol Expresses Outrage, McLaughlin Goes to Jail

NYT Joins the Circus: Now the Clowns Need Your Money

No budget fix as Gov. Paterson, pols only bicker

Never Cut Themself The 2009-2010 state budget includes more than $196 million just to run New York's Legislature. Now we have a legislature that adopts budget on time, they just have to be change during the year because they are not accurate * Our industrious legislators increased state spending by 9%, raised taxes by $7 billion and failed to pass a single truly important piece of nonbudgetary legislation * According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the New York Legislature had 2,751 staffers as of July (the national average was 682). That's almost 13 staff members for each of our 212 hardworking legislators * According to the state Public Integrity Commission, 6,624 lobbyists (many former staffers) and 62 public corporations spent $173.9 million to lobby our state government in 2008 * NYS Legislature spends $500,000 on special sessions, cuts $0 from budget November 18, 2009 *The Most Expensive Budget in the Least Productive Legislative SessionGene

The Gangs of Albany

How Albany Operates Like the Mob

Testimony during Bruno's trial "suggested the Senate often looks over its shoulder in the same way the mob does," writes Danny Hakim (NYT)