ABSTRACT
The Division of the Budget (DOB) is at the center of the budgetary process. Preparation of the executive budget typically begins in June, when each agency begins to compile its annual estimates for the following year. The governor's budget avoided tax increases through borrowing and large spending cuts, particularly in Medicaid and education. Sales and property taxes are considered regressive because they impose the same burden on everyone regardless of ability to pay income taxes, because the rates typically rise with earnings, are progressive. New York State's system of school funding gives each school district a per-pupil allocation from the state. New York remains in many ways one of the most progressive of the states in the ways in which it raises and spends money. Thus, although New Yorkers may still be less inclined than the citizens of some other states to let the poor fend for themselves the prospects for redistributive policies are not good.
