The press agrees with Chris Gibson: Murphy’s Vote on Education Jobs Bill will prolong the problem

By Sam Foster

The local media does not appear to be impressed with Congressman Scott Murphy of NY's 20^th congressional district.  First they grilled him over his use of taxpayer funds for campaign purposes, now the Post Star has written a scathing article about his vote for the Education Jobs Bill.

The Post Star editorial staff writes:

On Wednesday, President Obama signed the Murray-Harkin amendment, which will provide an additional $10 billion in aid to schools around the country to prevent teacher layoffs. The bill also includes $16 billion to extend increases in Medicaid matching funds originally contained in the federal stimulus package.

U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy, who is facing a tough re-election battle, said he voted for the extra money to help offset the state's high property taxes. But this measure will do nothing of the sort. In fact, it's likely that property taxes will go up in the long-term because of it, not down…

…Despite their good intentions, Congress and the president actually made our property tax problem worse by giving school districts and the state government the opportunity to postpone tough spending decisions.

If our elected representatives understood human nature as much as they understand election-year politics, we taxpayers would be a whole lot better off.

Chris Gibson made a similar statement in denouncing Scott Murphy's vote:

 "Rule number one when you're in a hole is to stop digging," said Gibson (R/C – Kinderhook). "I know people are struggling and I know what tough times are like for families. My father was laid off his union job during the recession in the late 70's and our family had to make some tough decisions. I'm a product of public high schools and I chose to serve our country in the Army, which helped pay for my college education. To this day, my wife and I sit around the kitchen table to decide how to balance our family's budget. Households like ours know you cannot add debt upon debt. By choosing to raise taxes instead of cutting federal spending, Congress threatens to make our troubling economic situation worse. It is never a good idea to raise taxes during a recession - this is sure to stifle job growth and hurt American families."
 
Last week the schools agreed with Chris Gibson, this week the press, and this coming November the voters.