WHIPLASH ALERT: Carl Flip-Flops AGAIN on Spending Cuts

Carl Paladino backed off his "unrealistic" pledge to cut spending 20%, but then touted it again last night. This morning he went even further, suggesting that he would slash 25% of the state's budget.

Jay Jacobs issued the following statement in response to Carl Paladino’s flip-flops on spending cuts:

“Mr. Paladino has been reversing himself so much when it comes to his plan to cut spending that he ought to use some of his millions to buy Dramamine for voters.  Given NY’s budget mess, it would be nice if Mr. Paladino had an actual plan to deal with reining in spending – but the fact that he has no idea what he’s talking about makes it easy for him to change his policy positions so frequently. 
 
“On his good days, he tells one newspaper one thing, and another newspaper something else.  On his better days, he tells the same newspaper two different things.  On his best days, he whines about people thinking he’s ‘angry’ and then holds a ‘mad as hell’ rally.  This morning, his plan changed again.  I wonder what he'll announce this afternoon.”

- Jay Jacobs, Chair, NYS Democratic Committee
 

BACKGROUND:

Paladino backed off his “unrealistic” pledge to cut spending 20%, then renewed it last night. “In his 25-minute speech in Hicksville, Paladino changed course again on his plan to cut spending, returning to a pledge of slashing 20 percent from the general fund budget in his first year in office.  A day earlier, Paladino, in accordance with a new position paper on his website, said the 20-percent spending cut would actually take place over two years - casting doubts over how he would pay for a promised 10-percent tax cut, experts said.  After the speech, Paladino said the spending cut plan was in flux: ‘Things changed a little bit, but they're changing for the positive, not the worse.’ He said he would explain more Wednesday.” (Newsday, 10/27/10, click)

This morning, he proposed even BIGGER reductions in spending. “Faced with questions about how he would balance the state budget, Republican Carl Paladino Wednesday proposed even bigger reductions in spending to pay for massive tax cuts for individuals and businesses.  The GOP nominee for governor says he now may have to slash up to 25 percent from the state's general fund budget in his first year in office to make fiscal room for a 10 percent state income tax cut and the elimination or reduction of several business taxes. ‘We'll be able to cut more than 20 percent,’ he told reporters after shaking hands with commuters at the Staten Island Ferry terminal.  It's the latest in a series of changes to Paladino's fiscal plan as the contest against Democrat Andrew Cuomo, the state attorney general, enters its final week. A Quinnipiac University poll on Wednesday showed Cuomo winning 55 percent to 35 percent, a survey that Paladino said didn't worry him because he was down in the polls before he defeated Rick Lazio in the GOP primary.” (Newsday, 10/27/10, click)