We have a very dynamic candidate running for governor and Carl Paladino is the one. He is definitely not politically correct and that is just one reason why I like him. He tells it the way it is and what he says makes much more sense than the “politically correct” candidates.

Of course, the political establishment is doing everything they can to discredit him and have focused on some emails he received and passed on. The establishment called them “inappropriate, and in poor taste.” Big deal! Jokes shouldn’t be taken seriously and sensitivity is a matter of perspective.

For example, if a person sees a woman is a pretty outfit and says, “You look very nice in that blouse,” one woman would take it as a compliment. Another, with “sensitivity” would consider it a sexist remark because she would perceive that the man was commenting on her chest.

Certainly, words can be hurtful and some are more sensitive to comments than others, but to condemn an email that was not meant for them to read is ridiculous. It is like the difference in art. Some people can look at a piece of art or sculpture if it is a nude body and call it pornography. That started with the controversy over a painting called “September Morn” that was exhibited in the window of an art store.

That happened in the early part of the last century and what was considered to be obscene by some finally evolved in an attitude of “So what!” We now accept situation comedies on TV in prime time that contain words, actions and pictures that would never have passed the censor a generation ago. Censorship is a matter of perspective, too.

Now, those messages passed on by Carl Paladino to his friends who do not have the “political sensitivity” of the critics, are being used to demean him and to dilute his message. His platform is tough, sensible and necessary if New York is to survive.

Few people can disagree that it will take tough actions to revive the Empire State from the downward spiral we face now. The sins of the past administrations and legislatures have condemned the citizens to a very dismal future unless the reckless and unnecessary spending is brought under control.

As a businessman, Paladino knows that you can’t spend more than you take in and be successful. As one politician said: “When I was a drunken sailor, I stopped spending when I ran out of money.”

Even now, as the governor and legislators argue about the budget, they are still spending more and raising taxes while decrying the gap in the budget. While the budget is behind by multi billions of dollars, those who are familiar with the process warn us that the next couple of budgets will have larger deficits.

That’s why we need Carl Paladino as governor. He is tough enough to make hard decisions and part of his platform is to cut spending by twenty percent. Sound impossible? To the establishment, it is impossible because so much if the budget is bloated or useless bureaucracies.

We have often said that the Department of Education could be cut in half and have no negative effect on education. The authorities put in during the Rockefeller administration are money suckers and should be redefined and most, abolished.

This columnist just took a trip from Buffalo to Kentucky over great highways and the only tolls paid were on the NY Thruway. Think of the money that could be saved by abolishing the Thruway Authority. That is only the tip of the financial iceberg.

As for the negative comments regarding jokes sent to friends over the Internet, we can only say: “Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.”

Politics can be a dirty business. One only has to look at our federal and state capitols and watch the legislative process to see the cesspool of what is called “the process.” In Washington, DC, we have a cabinet filled with tax cheats who somehow got a free pass and ended up on the pinnacle of politics.

In Albany we are supposed to be a republic with our elected representatives making the decisions of what laws are to be introduced and voted on. They are also supposed to be involved in the passing of the budget, which, by the way, is going to be late ….. again!

Instead, all the deals are cut by the powerful few, like three men in a room who decide what bills will be on the floor and which ones will pass. The Speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, is reputed to be one of the most powerful politicians in America. He tells the Democrats in the Assembly how to vote, but he has all the votes he needs to pass a bill by the assembly members whose districts are east of the Tappan Zee Bridge.

For the Democrats in Upstate New York, he can give a pass on tough votes so they can “vote for the people” and get reelected in order for him to maintain a comfortable majority.

Silver also belongs to a very successful law firm, which, some say, is the reason that meaningful tort reform will never see the floor of his domain. Others in the political business claim that New York government is run by a small group of liberals in New York City and the lobbyists. This is a tough assessment to refute.

The Senate is nothing to brag about, either. This has been a tough year with a dubious majority because a couple of people changed allegiances like some people change their underwear. More deals are made in the halls and offices than are made on used car lots, with the ethics showing a great similarity.

Lobbyists are noted for their effectiveness and are paid for their success in persuading legislators to “vote right.” Some offer campaign contributions, some offer people to work on the campaign making phone calls, literature drops or helping stuff envelopes for mailings. All are very helpful in keeping the legislator in office.

When the legislator doesn’t “vote right” they threaten him (or her) with primaries or help for the opponent. These are powerful clubs to administer political beatings. Of course the politicians are not shy about asking for favors or money.

Recently they announced that unions and special interests could gain favorable access to them for contributions from $10,000 to $50,000. In some circles that would be known as bribery. In Albany, it is called “business.”

There is no pride to be citizens in a state that is called dysfunctional. There is nothing to contradict when someone makes that statement. The facts speak for themselves. There are some good people in office, and in Western New York, we have some who are outstanding. By comparing them to some of the downstate politicians and the way they handle the pressures they face, they could be considered to be amazing.

Hopefully, when we cast our votes in November we can separate the wheat from chaff. That is an old cliché but we have to vote on issues and while the other cliché about “throwing out the baby with the bathwater” also holds true, we do need new blood in the legislature. We have to be selective on who we throw out and who we keep.

This is a critical time for the future of our country and the state. What happens to our future depends on who we vote for and why. It all depends on whether we “vote right.”

It is income tax time and it brings up the problem of the redistribution of income. Those who depend on government for their income have a different perspective on taxes than those who pay the taxes without receiving a return. Those who work in the school systems do not have the same resistance to property tax increases as those who do not.

Let’s say a school employee pays an increase on his home of $100 a year, but it results in a pay raise of $1,000 a year. His standard of living increases by $900 before income taxes. The non-school employee has a decrease in his standard of living of $100 and while that may seem low, it is still money spent for which there is no visible return. Most of the tax payers do not consider more money for administration and staff increases the quality of education, but rather increases the quality of life for school employees.

This difference of perspective extends to recent stories of conflicts with state employees. Nobody disputes that the state is in a crisis. Governor Patterson has stated he wants to delay a four percent raise for state employees. The alternative is to lay off some workers to reduce the increase in spending. The union heads don’t see why they should be forced to “sacrifice” their raises, or to lose jobs.

Instead, they are spending money to air commercials demanding that corporations should pay their “fair share” of taxes. Corporations in New York are paying exceptionally high taxes now, and many have already left the state to relocate to one that is more reasonable in placing tax burdens on businesses.

This brings to mind the story about the golden goose. The unions and legislators need to come to a reasonable conclusion about sharing the pain of a financial downturn. With unemployment figures at the highest since the great depression, the unions might want to rethink their opposition to cooperating with a reasonable solution.

The second area of taxation that needs rethinking is the income tax law regarding the marriage penalty. Politicians on the campaign trail like to advocate family values. We have seen a huge increase in cohabitation over the past generation. A major contributor to this arrangement could be financial.

Let’s say a couple of senior citizens decided to get married. Prior to marriage, each one paid an income tax on their Social Security and pension of less than a thousand dollars a year. After exchanging vows and filing as a married couple, the tax rose to more than five thousand dollars. Now, that is a huge penalty for living a moral life.

While the rate of babies born without the parents being married is increasing, those who are married are paying more in taxes to pay for the benefits for “courageous single mothers.” This is grossly unfair, but the politicians are so greedy for tax money so they can spend it on pork, they don’t care about a really “fair share.”

Two people, same income, but a five hundred percent increase in income taxes. This is a huge drop in their standard of living and no advantages or benefits to them. Instead of politicians figuring ways to increase taxes, the logical answer would be to making them fair. Fair share needs to be redefined to benefit the taxpayers rather than the tax eaters.

When the expenditures of government exceed the revenue, the problem should be solved by reduced spending, cutting unnecessary programs and working to limit the size of staff in every department. Perhaps this is a good reason to stop reelecting professional politicians and to replace them with people who had to work in the private sector. They have a much different definition of what is a “fair share.”

The budget is late, the deficit is huge, revenue is shrinking, so, what do our state legislators do? They take a vacation for “religious holidays.” In a time when the mention of God is a question for the courts whether it should be taken out of the pledge to the flag, or “In God We Trust,” taken off our coins, our politicians decide religion is a perfect excuse to take time off during a crisis.

Maybe they are going to use this as an opportunity to pray for answers to the problem. Maybe they need a rest from the dysfunction, corruption and ineptness of the leadership and those in power. Power is like any addiction. Whether it is drugs, alcohol or gambling, those addicted don’t see their addiction as a problem. The problem, to them, is the lack of money to finance the spending to support the addiction.

Nobody in power wants to cut back on the spending, so they have to make creative choices of how to get more from the taxpayer without disturbing the voter. For decades, when times were good, the politicians could get away with it. Now that times are tough, so is reality and tough choices must be made.

The two biggest drains on the budget are Medicaid and education. Both are very sacred cows and the taxpayers are being gored. The tough choices will have political consequences and politicians don’t like consequences when they are the ones who have to face them.

New York has the most optional programs attached to Medicaid benefits. Tough, but very reasonable cuts should be made there, to bring them in line with other states. That alone could make a big slash in the deficit. New York spends more on Medicaid than the next two states combined. We don’t hear of people dying in the streets or being denied necessary care in the rest of the country because of lower benefits there.

The second sacred cow is education which always asks for more money, but does not show how the additional spending improves education or learning. First, the Department of Education personnel should be cut in half. Then, the individual schools should cut administration in half. Many would agree that the schools are top heavy in administration and have far too many positions that are unnecessary.

Then there is the cost of wages for those who have government jobs. In the private sector, the employees will often take a cut in pay and benefits to keep the company in business. Not so with government jobs. Even in the toughest of times the unions, instead of offering necessary concessions, try to figure out ways to raise taxes on others to fuel their gravy train.

When threatened with layoffs as the alternative to raises, the unions change their motto from “solidarity” to “every man for himself.” Layoffs don’t affect those at the top and those at the bottom are expendable. With teachers, the new ones are usually the most dedicated and enthusiastic, and the ones to suffer as a result of teacher layoffs are the children.

Many experts say that putting a freeze on the raises would cut billions from the deficit, but the unions won’t hear of it. Financial pain is for the taxpayers, not the tax eaters. The legislators are not open to cuts in their budgets. Perhaps the most sacred of the cows is “member’s items” and staff allowances. The leadership with their “lulus” keep control over their membership with taxpayer money, so that is untouchable.

It will be interesting to see what happens in November and how many elected officials are replaced. We have to be careful not to throw out the few good ones in office, but all the professional politicians make a living off the stupidity of the majority of voters. However, this could be the year the voters smarten up and demand the necessary changes. We can only hope.