“It is time that common sense be introduced to the halls of our state Capitol in Albany. It is no surprise that after decades of skyrocketing taxes and crushing regulations- our state faces a $6 billion budget shortfall.

“Luckily, there is light at the end of the tunnel for New York should leaders be wise enough to follow it. My proposal, which I call ‘The Penny Plan,’ calls for the state comptroller to identify one penny in savings for every taxpayer dollar spent each year for eight consecutive years.

“Recently, the comptroller released a report stating that $800 million could be saved in our state’s Medicaid program. In addition, scrapping the proposed taxpayer funding of political campaigns would save another $100 million.

“In a state that spends more money per resident than any other in the nation, we can easily find 1% savings instead of taxing more middle-class families, small businesses and seniors out of our state. Perhaps with a new year and new decade upon us, newly-found common sense will be making an appearance in Albany as well.”