Governor David A. Paterson met with more than 50 members of the small business community from the Capital Region, Hudson Valley and across the State to discuss his Deficit Reduction Plan (DRP) and the State’s current fiscal situation. The meeting, which took place in Albany, was one of several that the Governor has convened across the State, including in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Syracuse, Binghamton, and Watertown.

“The time for action is now. We cannot continue to put off the difficult choices we must make in order to preserve our financial stability”  Governor Paterson.

The Governor has hosted these conversations in an effort to better understand the concerns of New York’s business communities and to emphasize that his proposed reductions he are painful but necessary steps to ensure the long term health of the State.

“The time for action is now. We cannot continue to put off the difficult choices we must make in order to preserve our financial stability,” said Governor Paterson. “Doing so, will only make those choices more difficult down the road. That is why I am traveling the State to personally make my case to the people of New York and to listen to their concerns and ideas.”

“Today’s meeting focused on the small business community – a community that is the engine of the New York State economy,” continued the Governor. “I am committed to helping them grow even as we face the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.”

This September, Governor Paterson unveiled a comprehensive guide for small business owners and entrepreneurs – a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive and interactive guide that will assist entrepreneurs in starting new businesses and will provide current small business owners with invaluable information and resources. The handbook is a direct result of the work done by the Governor’s Small Business Task Force, a group of statewide business leaders that convened this summer. Governor Paterson charged the task force with developing new strategies to address the concerns of small business in New York and to promote their growth and development.

The directory is available HERE.

Mike Elmendorf, New York State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), said: “New York faces a very real and very dire fiscal crisis. It is a crisis of over-spending, not revenue, and certainly not under-taxation, brought on by years of unsustainable spending that neither State government nor its taxpayers could afford. Now is the time for real and substantial reductions in State spending, and fundamental changes to stop New York’s pattern of limping from fiscal crisis to fiscal crisis, such as a State spending cap and public employee pension reform. Small business owners make tough choices every day to keep their businesses running and their employees working. They also know they cannot spend more than they take in. It is high time for State government to do the same. Governor Paterson’s deficit reduction plan is a critical first step toward restoring fiscal stability in New York, and NFIB urges the legislature to enact it.”

F. Michael Tucker, President and CEO of the Center for Economic Growth, said: “Governor Paterson clearly understands the urgent need to implement a deficit reduction plan to insure the short term viability of New York State’s economy. To do nothing or continue ‘spending as usual’ will result in a disastrous downward spiral that will take years to recover. State government must tighten its belt just like families and businesses do in tough economic times.”

Bob Mallozzi of the Mallozzi Restaurant Group in Schenectady said: “Governor Paterson’s Deficit Reduction Plan is a courageous and necessary course of action, and the first step in the process of restoring financial stability to the State of New York.”