Cuomo Sweetens Pre-K Deal: ‘Whatever’ Mayor Needs

[elleng]

A day after Mayor Bill de Blasio rebuffed his proposal to set aside $1.5 billion to pay for prekindergarten classes, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo came back on Wednesday with a new offer: a blank check.

“Whatever he needs,” Mr. Cuomo promised. “As fast as he can phase in, we’ll fund it.”

Long accustomed to deference from fellow New York Democrats, the governor is suddenly adjusting to a fresh and frustrating reality.
As Mr. de Blasio begins his fourth week in office, he is sticking by his signature campaign plan to raise taxes on New York City’s highest earners to pay for expanded prekindergarten.

So Mr. Cuomo, facing a mayor unmoved by his opening offer, sharpened his argument, suggesting Mr. de Blasio’s position was motivated by politics and would be unfair to smaller cities in the state that are not magnets for millionaires.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/nyregion/cuomo-sweetens-pre-k-deal-whatever-mayor-needs.html?hp

[Squinch]

1. So basically Cuomo is throwing all the money from the poor and middle class at

de Blasio in order to keep him from raising taxes on the people who make more than 500,000. He's terrified that the wealthy will actually have to pay some taxes.

Just do it, Bill. The country needs SOMEONE to break ranks and raise taxes on the rich.

And Cuomo's desperation about this is gross. If he has so much money to throw around, why doesn't he stop defunding Early Intervention and the existing pre-school programs across the state. The new proposed budget has enormous cuts to CPSE. His hypocrisy is showing.