Molinaro says Cuomo's spending not as good as he claims
The Buffalo News
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his Republican rival, Marc Molinaro, argued about the condition of New York state’s finances during their only one-on-one debate of the campaign. Molinaro pushed back against Cuomo’s claim that he has increased spending by only 2 percent per year, lower than it has been in modern political history.
The independent Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization, analyzes state budgets and found that the 2018-19 budget, which began April 1, calls for increased spending of 4.5 percent. The commission found that, despite state leaders’ proclamations that spending growth had stayed at 2 percent, "after adjusting for shifts of certain types of spending out of state operating funds or across fiscal years, the budget actually increases 4.5 percent from fiscal year 2018."