Another reason I Love New York (note the sarcasm). According to an article in The Buffalo News
As consumers in Western New York and across the state await or receive their state property tax refund checks, some women are discovering to their dismay and frustration that they can’t cash them because only their husbands’ names are on them.
That’s right…ever-PC New York State is handing out sexist property tax refund checks.
…many of the checks are made out to only one person, usually the husband, because the state is using records that sometimes are decades old. Spouses or other property owners are left out, even if they are listed on the deeds.
But this isn’t just an issue of political correctness, its causing real problems for women whose husbands have died or who are having marital problems.
Banks often won’t let the other property owner cash or even deposit the check if their name isn’t on it. The result has been limbo for many of these taxpayers, especially elderly consumers like Carol Decker of Angola. Her husband died in 1994, but his name is still on their deed, along with her name.
She always notes on her income taxes that her husband is dead. But she never changed the deed. Still, she says it is unfair to have to go through hoops to get her money.
“It upsets any woman. It doesn’t seem right,” Decker said. “Whenever we paid taxes, I always had to sign with him, and the house is in my name as well as his name. And if I make a mistake on my income tax, they’re going to come after me. They’re not going to go after my husband.”
One more reason to join the FSP…no property tax means no screwed up property tax refunds
This is ridiculous. According to a CBS/New York Times poll,
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the Democratic candidate for governor of New York, is making inroads in both Republican strongholds and on traditional Republican issues, with voters seeing him as the most likely to improve the economy, help avert terrorism and hold taxes steady or lower them
This shows not only that Spitzer has done a great job of misrepresenting his stance on various issues, but also that Faso has done a crappy job of showing New York State where he stands. According to the article,
Five weeks before the election, about eight in 10 voters said that they have no opinion of Mr. Spitzer’s Republican rival, John Faso. Mr. Spitzer, a Democrat, is supported by a majority of those surveyed not only in Democratic-dominated New York City, but also in its more heavily Republican suburbs and in upstate areas.
The poll showed that Mr. Faso’s central campaign message — his pledge to cut taxes, and his claim that Mr. Spitzer would raise them — is either not getting through to voters, or not resonating with them. While 32 percent of those surveyed said that they thought taxes would go up if Mr. Spitzer was elected governor, roughly the same amount, 37 percent, said they thought that taxes would go up if Mr. Faso was elected.
Fifty-three percent said they thought that Mr. Spitzer would keep taxes at their current levels, or lower them, while 40 percent said Mr. Faso would.
Yes, you read that right…New Yorkers think that Spitzer is the guy to lower taxes and Faso the guy to raise them…
Normally, I would just say that my fellow New Yorkers are idiots if I read that. But I think there’s more at stake here–Elliot Spitzer has tried to position himself to appeal to moderates and conservatives–his ads are positive ads that show a better New York all made possible by his plan to “cut taxes”–failing to mention the fine print: who’s taxes, how much, etc.
Meanwhile, Faso’s presence is nearly non-existent–I can understand the lack of a big ad campaign (although I’ve only seen one very,very negative television ad–which may work, but I think he should have a softer ad too). I understand that he has a small budget to work with–but why isn’t his campaign working on drumming up more grassroots support? I actually signed up on his website to help out with the campaign, but I haven’t been called to help at all. All that came of signing up to help was a bumper sticker that came in the mail, with a letter which implied that they were now wrapping up the campaign. Wrapping up the campaign? In September?
Look, I’ll vote for Faso–I certainly think he’s the better candidate. But I just wish his campaign could get the word out. I’ll bet most New Yorkers wouldn’t even recognize his name.
I’m becoming more and more convinced that it is time to join the Free State Project.