Financially strangled by our politicians

[TonyH]

I'm not sure how many of you work in teh Private sector. No Raises for years, some of us have taken a pay cut, many have lost their jobs. Yet our politicians are oblivious to this , they know one thing... Maintain their Budgets.
Here's what our politicians have added to my life in the last few months.

Car Registrations: The Fee has gone up 28% for every car registration. For Suffolk County Residence, the MTA added an additional $50 to your car registration. That's right My car registration has literally doubled for each of my cars. Even my antique cars that see about 200 miles a year.

License renewal: My CDL license not only has gone up about $50 but now I have to add teh Price of a Physical to teh cost. That's right. To maintain a Commercial Drivers license, I need to get a physical and have a doctor fill out this 2 page form. That's in addition to the eye exam.

Car insurance. Car insurance is mandatory in New York. Our Governor just added a $20 Tax to Insurance. Some Ny City Police Union Tax.

Property Tax. My property tax has gone up $2800 this year. I guess the Civil Servants are still getting their Raises even though the rest of us are lucky just to keep a job. Heck Welfare got a raise this year.
Where do they think this money is coming from???
This State is amazing. I have to keep my heat at 53 degrees in the winter so I can afford the Oil Bill but a welfare recipient can keep it at 72. Phone bills are all kinds of wierd, A welfare recipient gets free phone service. Welfare recipients can get free computers for their kids. I can't afford computers for my kids. Why am I asked to hand money over to buy things for peopel that I can't afford myself??? I hate this.

[JCJ]

I feel your pain Tony.. Unfortunately it's a blue state socialist infection that has spread across the country..

[bernm8r]

I could not agree more! I grew up in the Hudson valley and loved it as a young teenager it was an awesome place able to get to NYC buyt still far enough to be "woods" anyway I moved back as an adult and I am so fed up with a fee and tax on every aspect of life! And there is no recourse! fees are just piled onto everyday requirements to get around. Dog license, drivers license insurance! I lived in Va with 2 cars one paid one with a lien. it was $600 a year to get full coverage on one and liability on the other. I moved back to NY and it tripled to $1800 a year and has an additional fee tacked on from the state as mandatory I think for the police as well.
Forget property tax mine has gone almost double form just 5 years ago.

All in all if it was not for world wide immigrants moving into NY, the state would be hemorrhaging people. I love NY and it s a beautiful state but honestly there are just as many other states of the Union that have beauty in them with out all the fees and taxes to death.

[jeepden]

I've worked in both public and private employment and see the argument from both sides of the fence. When I worked in public service (and the economy was good), it was considered a bad-paying job with good benefits. In contrast in the private sector I'vr made alot more money in the private sector and had to buy most of my own medical coverage, but still came out way ahead based on the pay difference I was able to make that was head and shoulders above the public sector job. Now that the economy has been in the toilet a few years, everyone wants a public job or bashes those in the public sector <shrug>. I suppose when the economy turns upward again, people will move on again as private sector typically afford better salaries...

Oh well, seems the view is based on where you are at the time...