RUSH: Now, let's see. In New York, they've been going back and forth at the state level on budgets. They are over-budget. They have a deficit in the double-digit billions, and they've been going back and forth in the State Assembly in New York over whether to raise taxes. They finally decided to do it over the weekend. "Personal income taxes for the upper-middle class and the rich are about to skyrocket under a secret deal reached last night by Governor Paterson and the leaders of the legislature. It's a two-tier tax plan." You heard about this, Snerdley? "It's a two-tier tax plan. They say it's going to bring in $4 billion annually..." I'll bet you that it does not come close to bringing in $4 billion annually. How's it going to do this? "...in part by raising income taxes 31% for all New Yorkers making more than $500,000 a year.
Now, remember Mayor Bloomberg, who opposed this at one point -- I don't know where he stands on it now, but Mayor Bloomberg way back -- said (summarized), "Look, we got eight million people that live here, there are 40 or 50,000 taxpayers -- families, what have you -- that pay so much in tax that they essentially support the city -- and if they start to leave, we've got a big problem." He said, "Even if 5,000 of them leave, we've got a huge problem. We just can't run out there and keep raising taxes on the rich." The governor, Mr. Paterson, didn't hear him. "It's not just people earning over $500,000 a year that are going to get hit. A lower-tier tax increase would increase taxes by 14-1/2 percent for single people between 250 and $500,000 a year, and for married and joint filers earning 300,000 to 500,000. Taxpayers now hit the current top rate of 6.85% when their incomes reach $65,000. The Paterson plan would tax top-tier earners at 8.97%, the second-tier earners at 7.85%.