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The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of New York State and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
Fiscal Responsibility,
Pensions,
Medicaid Fraud
Click on a name for candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
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1. As state comptroller, your duties would include overseeing the fiscal affairs of the state. This year's $114.7 billion budget calls for the largest state spending increases in 30 years with spending growing faster than revenues. Is this fiscal responsibility on the part of the governor and legislators? Why or why not? Explain.*
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Answer from Julia Willebrand:
A $114 billion budget loaded with subsidies to corporations, mall developers and sports associations is fiscally irresponsible. Payments in Lieu of Taxes, giveaways that reward the already well subsidized, are irresponsible. Responsible spending would include incentives for jobs, education programs, sustainable environmental projects, organic agriculture and affordable
housing.
Answer from John J. Cain:
This is gross fiscal irresponsibility. Libertarians believe in small government. Government should not be in the real estate business, the insurance business, legislating morality or perpetuating the welfare state mentality.
Answer from J. Christopher Callaghan:
The State's cash basis accounting and its multiplicity of authorities allow State government to spend today and tax tomorrow. Such an opportunity is irresistible to politicians, who see the device as necessary for reelection. They may be correct but it's a Comptroller's job to thwart the attempt to disassociate spending from taxes because the bills always come due eventually.
Answer from Willie Cotton:
I am using my campaign to promote and participate in the resistance by working people to the growing assaults on our rights and living standards by the ruling rich and their government--from Albany to Washington--to continuing cuts in social services from education and welfare to housing.
Answer from Alan G. Hevesi:
Authorizing spending that grows twice as fast as revenues is not fiscally responsible. The budget relies on a one-time surplus to fund ongoing spending and authorizes $16.5 billion in new debt. My comprehensive debt and fiscal reform agendas would dramatically improve the State's financial practices and long-term fiscal health.
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2. Skyrocketing public employee pension expenses have inflated the budgets of every level of government in New York State. What reforms would you propose to ease the burden for taxpayers?*
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Answer from Julia Willebrand:
Retiring government employees have earned their pensions. Rather than cut pensions, reorder budget priorities to reduce taxes. Instead of giveaways to corporations, cut developer handouts and recoup fraudulently earned incentives, e.g., economic development subsidies for jobs that were never created. Pass effective whistle blower legislation to recover massive Medicaid overpayments.
Answer from J. Christopher Callaghan:
I have proposed that new State and local employees be placed in a "Tier 5", a defined contribution plan that would approximate the retirement benefit available under Tier 4 until the unwise pension enhancements of 2000. A defined contribution plan would make it more difficult for State leaders to make pension enhancements while ignoring the cost to the taxpayers.
Answer from John J. Cain:
All future employees should be enrolled in a 401-K type system, where the state will match contributions on a 50-50 basis. Current employees' overtime should be restricted to prevent inflating salaries to increase pensions.
Answer from Willie Cotton:
Faced with unrelenting attacks on wages, pensions, healthcare, and social security, workers have to fight to preserve what we've won over decades of struggle, like the New York transit workers' strike in 2005. Workers need a labor party, based on the unions, that fights in our interests.
Answer from Alan G. Hevesi:
After years of uncharacteristically low contribution rates due to market performance, in 2003, the State and local governments were facing a substantial increase in required contributions. I achieved passage of legislation that saved the State approximately $620 million in SFY 2003-04 and local governments saved approximately $950 million. Since 2003, we have had 3 years of reductions in contributions.
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3. What do you propose to end the excessive Medicaid fraud in New York State?*
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Answer from Willie Cotton:
The biggest fraud is that of the ruling rich and their government. William Clinton's administration dismantled social welfare for the most vulnerable. We need a revolutionary movement that can lead a fight by workers and our allies to take power out of the hands of the ruling billionaire class.
Answer from J. Christopher Callaghan:
The Comptroller has 34 Medicaid audits of the NYS Health Department, most of them about processing accuracy rather than fraud detection. That emphasis must shift. Moreover, counties should be permitted to assist the State in rooting out provider fraud as well as client fraud. We also have to understand that inefficient use of services probably wastes more money than is lost to fraud.
Answer from John J. Cain:
As a Libertarian, I believe we should work to end government as a health care provider. Private enterprise nearly always is more efficient than government. Until such end is met, government should end prosecution of victimless crimes and shift those resources to persuing fraudsters.
Answer from Julia Willebrand:
Increasing the number of auditors assigned to reviewing payments to pharmaceutical companies and other providers; hiring oversight workers to scrutinize patient records; centralizing audit functions in the
Comptrolleršs office and criminalizing Medicaid fraud would be a start to recouping millions perhaps billions of NYS budget dollars lost to fraud.
Answer from Alan G. Hevesi:
Our audits have identified $340 million in inappropriate Medicaid payments. We won a legal challenge to the Comptroller's authority to audit Medicaid billings. Audit activities are enhanced by an investigations team that helped end coverage of erectile dysfunction drugs for sex offenders and works with authorities to deter fraud.
Responses to questions asked of each candidate
are reproduced as submitted to the League.
- Original answers for a published Voters Guide
were limited to 50 words and are presented as submitted. Candidates have
since been invited to supply answers of any length for the Web.
The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.
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