THREE CREDIT RATING REFORMS
AGENCIES NEED TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY, NOT NATIONALIZATION
By Melinda R. Katz
There’s a reason that the best food critics dine in disguise.
If it were even perceived that they received favorable treatment—and, consequently, an ulterior motive—to pen a positive review, they would be out of business.
So why do we tolerate such dubious behavior on the part of our credit rating agencies and their assignment of risk to securities? Their conduct in this exact fashion contributed to the meltdown of the financial sector. Now, their very existence is in jeopardy. Read more
JUST WHEN SHE THOUGHT SHE WAS OUT
TRY AS YOU MIGHT, IT’S NOT THAT EASY TO ESCAPE THE BOROUGH OF YOUR BIRTH
By Lorraine Duffy Merkl
My life has come full circle and I’m dizzy.
I have often written about my humble beginnings in The Bronx and how I spent most of my youth and young adulthood trying to “get outta Dodge.”
From what horrors was I running?
Read more
BAD TAX ON BEER
To the Editor:
Gov. David Paterson’s budget proposal to more than double the state’s beer excise tax from 11 cents to 24 cents in hopes of generating revenue for the state will ultimately have the opposite effect. The excise tax increase will raise the cost of beer and decrease the volume sold, thus negatively impacting sales and eliminating jobs.
When the federal excise tax was doubled in 1991, three breweries closed, one in Fulton, N.Y., and across the nation 60,000 jobs were lost. Should the state excise tax more than double, the future of the Anheuser Busch brewery in Baldwinsville, N.Y., is questionable, putting more than 800 jobs at risk. Read more
SHED SOME LIGHT ON THE COUNCIL
To the Editor:
The recent proposal by Queens City Council member Eric Gioia to make all city expenditures available online makes me wonder why Gioia waited eight years to see the light. Does his enlightened reform proposal have anything to do with his campaign for public advocate? While Gioia is at it, perhaps he can get the City Council on the web as well. They Read more
THE SENATE FIDDLES WHILE TRANSIT BURNS
Straphangers—and really everyone in the metropolitan area—ought to be outraged. The fare hikes and service cuts that were, at press time, set to become a harsh new reality for subway, bus and train riders are unconscionable. And the blame lies squarely with the State Senate, whose behavior over the past week has been downright embarrassing.
With the Metropolitan Transportation Authority facing a financial crisis, last year Gov. David Paterson appointed former MTA chair Richard Ravitch to come up with a new plan for avoiding the draconian fare hikes and service cuts that loomed in the absence of new funding. Everyone will feel the pain from a crumbling mass transit system, and so the Ravitch plan rightfully distributed the burden with a payroll tax, a modest fare hike and tolls on the historically free East and Harlem river bridges. Read more
MUMFORD SIGNS HER FAVORITES
By Kevin Filipski
Although mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford has been associated with the Metropolitan Opera since graduating from its Young Artist Program, it’s another Met that she’ll be calling home this weekend. The 27-year-old Utah native makes her first solo concert appearance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Saturday, March 21. Read more
Crime Check
Weekly, monthly and year-to-date crime stats from the 19th Precinct, on the East Side from 59th to 96th Streets.
MILLIONAIRE SHAKEDOWN
HOW THE UPPER EAST SIDE COULD HELP SOLVE NEW YORK’S BUDGET PROBLEMS
By Dan Rivoli
To tax, or not to tax—that is what New York State and City legislators are debating as they negotiate budget proposals.
New York’s yawning budget gaps were mostly created by the black hole left when Wall Street’s largesse dried up. Program cuts have helped close the gap a little, but only so many cuts to vital services can be made. So the solution for some legislators lies in raising personal income taxes for the wealthiest New Yorkers, from millionaires to $300,000-aires. Read more
PET OF THE MONTH: Carmella
“Carmella moved with me from St. Petersburg, Florida, up to New York just over a year ago,” writes owner Katie Killary. “I worried about traveling with her on the plane, but she was very well-behaved. I, however, was not and was a nervous wreck! Read more
THE PAMPERED PET: COZY SNOOZING
By Jane Warshaw
Chances are your pet has already picked out a favorite place to sleep. Your bed, your sofa or your laundry, especially when it’s fresh from the dryer. But you may have other ideas about where your animal should be snoozing away almost one-third of his or her life.
If you’re hearing the economy loud and clear, or you used to be friends with Bernie Madoff, you might want to head for Petco (147 E. 86th and 2475 Broadway at 92nd) where they’ve got some great soft fleecy donut beds for only $6.99 to $10.99. Read more
