Contrary to the reputation it may have at one time earned and no longer deserves, New York is now one of the safest cities in the country. Taking violent crime, workplace deaths, fatal crashes and natural disasters into consideration, our home is ranked number eight on the Forbes.com list of America’s safest cities. We are also the entertainment center of the nation, a shopper’s paradise, a diner’s dreamland and the best mixture of religions, race, and nationalities found anywhere.Melting pot? Salad bowl? Call it what you want. It’s still, whether in actuality or in our hearts, the capitol of the world.And yet, according to a very recent article in the New York Post, hundreds of thousands have flown to greener pastures because of New York’s high taxes. That’s not to say that there aren’t other reasons for moving. But for those of us that are in some of the higher tax brackets, it’s enough. I’m sure that you’ve noticed more moving vans than ever crisscrossing our boulevards. The Empire Center for New York State Policy tells us that during the first eight years of this decade more than 1.5 million state residents left for other parts of the nation. Of that number, 1.1 million are former New York City residents. That translates to a loss of one of every seven taxpayers. The folks that are leaving are being replaced by lower wage earners. Lower wages suggest a smaller tax base.During fiscal 2006-2007 this migration to other states amounted to an astounding loss of $4.3 Billion %u2013 that’s Billion with a Capital B %u2013 dollars.Are you shocked? At least a little surprised? I’m not. While a good portion of my neighbors left for the suburbs and became prisoners of the Long Island Railroad, I could not help but notice many of them with sizeable earnings heading for areas where they could keep a larger portion of their income. Rush Limbaugh warned us about this a long time ago when he headed for Florida. And more recently, Tom Golisano decided to also head for the Sunshine State where he is now saving $13,800 a DAY. Hey, that’s serious money. Before leaving he wrote a letter which he titled “Adios New York” that was published in the New York Post. I still have a copy of it in my files and if you’d like to read it I’ll be happy to Email it to you. In fact, if you’re sick and tired of the tax and spenders that are running the Empire State, send a copy of Mr. Golisano’s letter, along with your own comments to the Governor, the Assembly Speaker, State Senate Majority Leader, and your representatives in both the State Senate and Assembly. Maybe they’ll get the message.
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I want to be on the Death Panels for the parents of the Congressmen in Washington who vote for them.
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Two weeks ago militant terrorists murdered 100 people, mostly women and children, by exploding a car bomb in a crowded Pakistani market. At that very same moment of the blast, Hillary Clinton was visiting the country to offer support for its fight against the terrorists.Let it be known that our Secretary of State was a good three hours drive away.
The way things are going for Obama there’s a very good chance that Hillary may run against him next time around.I am StanGershbein@Bellsouth.net telling Hillary to please not tell us how she dodged flying shrapnel and bullets during this terrible ordeal.
