Mark Johns for New York State Assembly
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"Vote for real reform!" ISSUES |
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New York state has the highest property taxes in the country, due mostly to the fact we spend 3X the national average on Medicaid and other social service programs. New York State's budget is as large as California's, and they have 75% more people, and a bigger infrastructure. We spend more on higher education than any other state and yet some of our best and brightest people are heading South for better paying jobs and 1/3 the property taxes.
There was no "Real Reform" this past legislative session in Albany. The politicians #1 goal is to get re-elected and that's why there are no term limits. That's also why the big money Special Interests, that fund the campaigns, get their way.
There are over 100 million dollars spent every year on lobbying Albany. That allows the lobbyists to have influence over the state budget that has ballooned to 116 billion dollars. That's up 12 billion dollars from last year alone. That's an 12 % increase. You the taxpayer will ultimately pay for this excessive spending.
Every year the budget goes up three times (3X) the rate of inflation. We had at least a 4 billion dollar surplus this year due to Wall Street. The legislature spent it all, yet not a dime went to pay down our State's excessive 50 billion dollar debt.
Now they will send out property tax rebate checks just before the election to try to win re-election, instead of fixing the problems that cost the home owners of Monroe County at least 3 to 4 thousand dollars a year in extra property taxes. If you are paying 7 thousand dollars a year in property tax here, a comparable property owner in the Raleigh, N.C. area is paying about 2 thousand dollars. That is an average of 5 thousand dollars a year or 50,000 dollars over the last 10 years. Is your Assemblyman worth that to you? Do you get 50,000 dollars more services than that home owner in Raleigh, N.C.?
You can vote for the same person every election and get the same results. Their re-election rate is almost 100%. Your assemblyman votes 98% of the time with Sheldon Silver, the New York City based Speaker of the Assembly.
They have one more legislative session after this November election, to vote themselves another big pay raise. Like the Democrat & Chronicle says, the legislators don't fear the voters. Let's send Albany a message for change - a vote for Mark Johns is a vote for "Real Reform."
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Mark Johns believes we must take the special interest money OUT of politics!
Campaign Finance Reform is the most important aspect of any “Real Reform.” There are hundreds of millions of dollars being spent every election cycle in Albany. Campaign contributions from large contributors are given to the party where party bosses dole out the campaign funds to the loyal incumbent Politicians who face reelection. These Large contributors are paying for the expensive ads on TV, Radio and mass mailings for the politicians, yet that money is controlled by the party. In my opinion that “Big Money” funneled through the party bosses puts those representatives in a position that may make them more loyal to the party interests than the best interests of New York State and the citizens they represent. Don't vote for someone you've heard of because of a massive advertising campaign, but vote for someone who will stand up to "the special interest money."
The NYS surplus was at least 4 billion dollars this year and your legislators spent it all without a penny for Campaign Finance Reform. If they had wanted to take on the special interest campaign money, they could have put one billion dollars into an interest bearing "clean campaign fund." Each year a fund of this size would generate at least 50 million dollars in interest, or 100 million dollars every 2 years. That money can be used to fund the campaign of any candidate that takes no other campaign money whatsoever. Then we could have a real discussion of the issues without the influence peddlers interfering with the election process.
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Mark Johns wants to STOP sending back the same politicians who caused the problems in the first place!
Term limits are a necessary part of any reform agenda. You only have the opportunity to vote out your legislator from Albany, not the ones representing other districts. These legislators can control the agenda and the purse strings. Literally, your future is in their hands and they have no accountability to you. When your NYS Assembly representative votes with Sheldon Silver 98% of the time, you know there are virtually no independent voices left in Albany.
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Mark Johns wants to STOP the gerrymandering of districts that favor incumbent politicians!
Redistricting Reform is long overdue. District lines should be drawn by an independent commission. Right now districts are carved up by the parties to favor incumbents. If you look at a current map of NYS voting districts they look like a jigsaw puzzle. They are drawn this way to insure the reelection of incumbent politicians. They use party registration and voting records to precisely keep that district firmly in one party's control, ensuring the incumbent is reelected.
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Mark Johns wants a budget on time that is fiscally responsible!
This isn't about an on time budget, it's about a BAD budget. What difference is it being on time if it's a disaster? NYS's budget is as large as California's and they have 75% more people and a larger infrastructure. Although NY has the largest overall tax burden we also have the largest debt of any state. It takes five billion dollars ($5,000,000,000.00) a year just to pay interest on the debt, that's five billion dollars we get nothing in return for. Imagine if we had no debt and we could put that money to good use. That money alone would resolve the school funding problems. Despite a 4 billion dollar surplus in 2006 the Legislature spent the surplus while reforming nothing. What will we do in the future when we have enormous deficits again?
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Mark Johns wants to bring Medicaid costs back in line with other states!
Medicaid Reform is vital to a fiscally healthy New York . Right now we spend THREE TIMES (3 TIMES!) the national average for Medicaid programs. (Don't confuse Medicaid with Medicare which is the program for our senior citizens) The high cost of NYS Medicaid is not just because of waste, fraud and abuse. We should “benchmark” our benefits to those states that are attracting our higher paying jobs. Everyone knows of someone who has moved to Carolina, for a better job and one third (1/3) the property taxes. We spend more than any other state on “higher education” yet many of our best and brightest are moving south. So in effect New Yorkers are paying for the education of the workforce for prospering states as we are also paying for Welfare and Medicaid for those in this state who don't work.
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6 - Education and Economic Prosperity
Mark Johns wants to keep our best and brightest graduates working for a prosperous NY!
No State spends more on education than NYS. Yet many of our best and brightest graduates are heading south for employment. Can you imagine Kodak paying for the education and training of Xerox workers? We need to offer incentives and scholarships to students who excel in math, science and engineering. The same for students who want to become teachers in those fields, with the provision they are willing to stay in NYS to improve our schools and economy. Science, math and technology are the future foundation of a prosperous NYS economy. Our manufacturing jobs that aren't leaving the country, are relocating to southern states with a much lower tax burden.
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"Vote for real reform!"
Vote for Mark Johns!
Contact Mark Johns (585) 671-7105
Send Checks to:
Friends of Mark Johns
26 Fuller Ave.
Webster, NY 14580
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