Katherine Mangu- Wards writes in the Washington Post - “Like bears to honey or zombies to brains, politicians find something irresistible about soda taxes. President Obama recently told Men’s Health magazine that he thinks a “sin tax” on soda is “an idea that we should be exploring.” San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom moved to impose a fee on stores for selling sugary drinks, only to admit that his plan was probably illegal. In December, New York Gov. David Paterson proposed a 18 percent tax on full-sugar soda to help cover a budget shortfall. After a public outcry, he claimed he was just raising awareness about childhood obesity. But he was also rehashing the same old myths about how taxing soda will save us all…”

To find out what those five myths are click here.

To learn more about how national health care reform could effect your business attend The Business Council’s Forum 2009: Federal Health Care Reform, November 9, 2009.

The Daily News reports from Washington - “Health care reform won’t work without a government-run insurance option, and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) vowed Sunday to jam the provision into the Senate bill.

Schumer and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) are readying for a showdown tomorrow with Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), theconservative chairman of the Finance Committee, who offered a compromise of creating nonprofit insurance co-ops to drive down costs.

The compromise is also backed by several other Democrats, and even Schumer toyed with the idea. He is joining Rockefeller in saying co-ops won’t work, and mounting an insurrection.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

To learn more about how national health care reform could effect your business attend The Business Council’s Forum 2009: Federal Health Care Reform, November 9, 2009.

The follow letter from William Stachowski, D-Buffalo who represents the 58th District in the State Senate appeared in the Buffalo News.

“Falling water has powered industry and agriculture in Western New York since colonial times. And as long as the waters have swirled, a debate has swirled around how to make the best use of our hydropower.

This year, the New York State Legislature promised comprehensive reform of the state’s low-cost power economic development programs. To begin those reforms, 11 New York state senators and Assembly members launched a statewide series of public hearings and round tables Wednesday in Niagara County, after a round table the day before in Buffalo. The events were an opportunity for the public, local business leaders and trade groups to present and defend Western New York’s interests, and they told us loudly and clearly that reform is necessary.

In the coming weeks we will be listening to companies that benefit from the low-cost power programs, and those that do not. We are specifically seeking ideas on how to best use our unique resource, Niagara and St. Lawrence hydroelectricity, to power our future. ”

To read the rest of the letter click here.

New York will face a cumulative spending gap of $38 billion through State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2012-13 if steps are not taken to address the current imbalance between revenue and spending, according to a report State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released today.

The Business Council of New York State agrees with the Comptroller that state leaders must confront this crisis by reducing state spending.

“The state must look to the spending side of the ledger, rather than raising taxes and issuing large amounts of debt to pay for things it cannot afford,” DiNapoli said. “New York needs a strong dose of fiscal discipline, which has been lacking for far too long. The State must make difficult choices today to fix New York’s persistent budget troubles.”

Comptroller DiNapoli will speak to The Annual Meeting of The Business Council of New York State at 9 am, Thursday Oct. 1, 2009 at the Radission Hotel Rochester Riverside in Rochester, NY.

Read the rest of the Comptroller’s release and report.

Aaron Besecker of the Buffalo News reports - “A panel of state legislators studying ways to change the New York Power Authority’s low-cost electricity programs got an earful about the importance of hydropower to Western New York businesses during a public hearing today.

Companies that presently receive discounted power should not be forgotten if and when changes are made to the criteria used to allocate cheap electricity, several speakers and members of the area’s state legislative delegation said during a session in Niagara Falls City Hall…

Other speakers included Elizabeth Lynum, deputy research director of the Citizens Budget Commission; Hadley Horrigan, vice president of public affairs for the Buffalo Niagara Partnership; Earl Wells, spokesman for coalition of local manufacturers, Power for Economic Prosperity; as well as representatives of The Business Council of New York State, the Manufacturers Association of Central New York and Comsumers for Affordable Sustainable Energy.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

There was an interesting article in Sunday’s NYT (9/20/09) discussing our love of electronics and its contribution to the increase use of electricity. “The proliferation of personal computers, iPods, cellphones, game consoles and the rest amounts to the fastest-growing source of power demand in the world. Americans now have about 25 consumer electronic products in every household, compared to just three in 1980”. We are totally plugged in but most of us don’t really consider how this electricity is generated. “To satisfy the (worldwide) demand for gadgets will require building the equivalent of 560 coal-fired power plants, or 230 nuclear plants”, according to the International Energy Agency. Switching to electrical power plants generated by natural gas instead of coal would dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the US dependence of foreign sources of oil.

I have an elderly friend who is a self proclaimed Luddite. She does not own a computer and avoids technology whenever possible. She is a proud member of the National Jane Austen Society of North America and pines for the days of beautifully handwritten letters and long visits. Unlike my friend, most of us embrace the technology in our lives or at least have come to terms with its necessity. Some, however, advocate against the production of new energy sources like the Marcellus Shale and seem disconnected from the fact that their lives are enhanced by energy powered technology. They want all their gadgets and conveniences but don’t consider where the energy comes from that makes everything in their lives work.

What would life be like without refrigeration or laundry or indoor cooking or heat, not to mention iPods, computers, TVs, etc.? We have gotten used to these conveniences and all our gadgets and we won’t give them up. Unless we want to return to the days of Jane Austen and Mr. Darcy we need to embrace the fact that energy is a part of everything that we do and produce it in the cleanest, most efficient way possible. Plentiful resources in the Marcellus Shale can fire natural gas-powered electrical plants and keep our food cold, lights on, and iPods cranking.

Even the National Jane Austen Society of North America has a website and uses email to contact many of its connected members, much to my friend’s dismay!

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To learn more about Marcellus Shale and how it’s development will enhance New York’s economy attend The Business Council’s Annual Meeting 2009. There you will have the opportunity to meet Jenny Levine as she moderates a pannel of experts on Marcellus Shale. For more information click here.

“A long term commitment to providing competitively priced power to energy-intensive businesses should be an essential part of the state’s economic strategy,” said Ken Pokalsky, senior director of government affairs of The Business Council of New York State, Inc. “Our members tell us, year after year, that energy costs are one of the state’s most significant competitiveness problems, usually ranking second or third – behind health care and taxes, particularly real property taxes – as their most significant cost-of-doing business concerns.”

Pokalsky make the remarks in testimony before a joint state legislative committee hearing on low-cost power programs in Niagara Falls.

Read more

The Times Union reports - “The state Court of Appeals has upheld Gov. David Paterson’s right to appoint Richard Ravitch as his lieutenant governor, voting 4-3 in a decision that reversed lower court decision that tended to find for the arguments of Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos.

Skelos’ legal team had argued before the seven-judge panel that Paterson had overstepped his duties under the state Constitution.

Paterson appointed Ravitch to the post in early July, just before the end of the month-long Senate coup crisis in which Republicans attempted to elevate renegade Democrat Pedro Espada Jr. to the post of temporary president of the chamber, a move that would have put him next in live of succession to the governor. The post of lieutenant governor was left vacant by Paterson’s elevation to the top job following Eliot Spitzer’s resignation in March 2008.

The decision is a victory for Paterson, who has been battered by the polls and the recent news that President Barack Obama had sent clear signs that the governor should step aside from running for his first full term in 2010 for the good of other Democratic candidates.

Joseph spector reports in today’s Poughkeepsie Journal -” Pledging that upstate New York can regain its lead in industry, President Barack Obama stressed Monday that the economy of the state and the nation can recover by becoming an innovation economy.

The president, in his first trip to upstate since he was elected last year, outlined Monday a strategy that uses more than $100 million in federal stimulus money to support education and infrastructure and additional investment in technology and research.

Obama spoke at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, Rensselaer County, which is building new classrooms and laboratories to train students in green technologies - one of several pockets of high-tech growth areas in the state. The roughly half-hour speech, attended by about 500 invited guests, was closed to the public.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

Manufacturer moving positions from Canada

The Pressconnects.com reports - “The Raymond Corp. nearly laid off 50 workers last week and considered moving out of Chenango County for a more business-friendly environment, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Malvaso said Monday.

Instead, the company, which makes forklift trucks and other products, will stay in the region and retain the 50 workers targeted for layoffs, Malvaso said.
Raymond also will remove itself from the state’s Shared Work program, hire about 65 production workers in the coming months and possibly add roughly 300 more manufacturing, engineering and support jobs as the economy improves and orders increase, he said.”

To read the rest of the story click here.