Power Struggle in New York State Senate Leads to Stalemate Over Funding Issues

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Since a Democratic Senator switched parties and became a Republican two weeks ago, the leadership in New York State Senate has been in a dispute over who is the real leader.  With the membership split 31 Democrats to 31 Republicans, accomplishing much needed legislation has become increasingly difficult for New York.  New York state senate is sitting on crucial revenue bills for New York City, Nassau, and cities across the state, which if not passed, cities will not have the necessary funding leading to jobs lost across the state.

“Every day they don’t pass the increase in the sales tax costs us $2 million. That’s 20 employees. Long term, make no mistake about it, if we don’t have the revenue we can’t have the employees,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

With the power shifting back into the hands of the GOP in the New York state senate, can the GOP cut taxes and make Democratic leadership be more fiscally responsible?  Should Governor Paterson promote fiscal responsibility as opposed to careless spending of the hard earned tax payer money?