Giambra & his red & green budget

I used to think Giambra could be the savior of this region. Now I know he's just a political hack. How do I know? He's blaming Medicaid (and nothing else) for the county's fiscal crisis. We are facing a complete withdrawal of funding for every quality of life issue in Erie County so we can pay Albany's medicaid bill. I think the Medicaid problem is a very serious one, and needs to be addressed by Albany immediately. But here's a question: The leader of FixAlbany, Tom Suozzi, is Nassau County's county legislator. He's held taxes steady, and Nassau County just saw its bond rating improve. He shares Erie County's Medicaid burden, and yet runs a fiscally tight ship. The problem here? Patronage and stubbornness. So, can someone explain to me why we need a county government at all? I mean, what are they good for? What does county government do that can't be done by Albany and the municipalities? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. County government is nothing but a graft machine. I would abolish everything except the County Clerk's office. Each legislature we answer to exists to tax us. At least we get some servcies for our tax dollars. That's about to change. The fewer legislatures above us, the less we're getting taxed. While we're at it, Albany itself needs some fundamental change so that it can become the democratic legislature we're taught about at school, rather than the triumverate we're stuck with now. Nice to see three downstate guys telling upstate what's good for it. We all get pacified by visits from Pataki opening one thing or another. We need fundamental change, and they give us photo ops. Giambra's a hack. Masiello's a hack. They're all hacks. This region and this state need to learn some new tricks before they tax us all out of the area.