How stimulus works for Central New York

Governor David Paterson offered the following editorial published by the Syracuse Post-Standard:

In the early years of the Great Depression, New York's economy was devastated. The unemployment rate soared to nearly 40 percent. Central New York was hit especially hard. From 1929 to 1933, Syracuse lost half its manufacturing jobs.

Yet New Yorkers did not give up. We banded together to create jobs and get our economy moving again. And, slowly but surely, we succeeded.

Federal, state and city efforts - including President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration - created thousands of jobs. In Syracuse, workers elevated the New York Central Railroad's tracks above street level, built the former MacArthur Stadium, restored Elmwood and Burnet Parks and more.

Today, we face the worst economic crisis our state has seen since the Great Depression. And, just like we did then, we have banded together in an historic effort to get our economy moving again.

As governor, my highest priority is to create jobs and put New Yorkers back to work - and we are succeeding.

Last Wednesday - the 100th day since Congress passed President Obama's economic stimulus package - we reached a significant milestone. We have allocated more than half of the economic stimulus funding we received for highway construction - and we have done so a full month ahead of the federally-mandated deadline.

Here in Central New York, in the weeks ahead, workers will begin resurfacing I-690, reconstructing Warren Road and repairing the bridge that carries Bartell Road over I-81.

Not only are we allocating this funding quickly, we are allocating it effectively. Funds are only being spent on shovel-ready projects - those for which work can begin immediately. Moreover, these projects have been selected by experts, such as the members of the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council, who know the infrastructure needs of this region best.

Finally, we are upholding the highest principles of transparency and accountability. The stimulus dollars are your dollars, and you deserve to know exactly how they are being spent. Through our Web site - www.recovery.ny.gov

- New Yorkers can monitor how every dollar of stimulus funds has been spent and how many jobs have been created. We will not tolerate waste, fraud or abuse at any level of this process.

Overall, President Obama's economic stimulus plan will preserve or create 215,000 jobs in New York. Our state's management of the stimulus plan has been a model for the rest of the nation to follow. In fact, in a report released last week, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities held out New York as a model for effective management of economic stimulus funds.

In addition to projects that will create jobs in the short term, we are moving forward with a number of initiatives that will transform New York's economy and create jobs over the long term.

For example, thanks to stimulus funding, we are moving forward with a plan to build one of the nation's first high-speed rail lines in New York with a stop in Syracuse.

Stimulus funds are also bolstering our effort to make New York a global leader in the new clean energy economy. We have set one of the nation's most ambitious clean energy goals. By investing in greater energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy, we expect to create 50,000 jobs in New York by 2015.

And we are working to make New York more affordable. Earlier this month, I proposed a cap on state spending, and this week, I will submit legislation to cap property taxes. We must force government to live within its means, so families and businesses can afford to stay here, and new families and businesses can afford to locate here.

In the weeks and months ahead, we will continue allocating stimulus funding quickly, efficiently and transparently so we can create jobs and put people back to work as fast as possible. And we will lay the foundation for a new economy for New York, so we can revitalize our state for decades to come.

I am proud to be leading New York through this crisis, and I am confident that just as we have done in the past we will overcome it together.