Spitzer refuses to answer some of the toughest questions and this one is just that. But, it is one that needs to be answered now. He says he has a plan, well……. what is it, the people need to know Eliot.

New York Daily News - Ideas & Opinions - Bill Hammond: Pop quiz for Spitzer
How deep will the city have to dig
for school funds? We need his answer

Eliot Spitzer is promising to finally settle the school funding lawsuit that has been hanging over New York for 13 years now - and deliver billions more to New York City’s schools.

What’s more, the Democratic front-runner in the governor’s race claims he can resolve the No. 1 headache facing state government without raising state taxes or shortchanging schools on Long Island or upstate.

But Spitzer is ducking and dodging on a crucial question: How much, if anything, will the city have to shell out to clean up Albany’s mess? He owes the already overtaxed voters of New York City a clear answer.

Spitzer has twice told the Daily News Editorial Board that he expects city residents to absorb part of the financial hit from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. What he did not say is how much.

“You have a city contribution,” he said this month. “That is, I think, something most people understand should, must be part of this. I don’t want to quantify that right now.”

These statements should send chills down the spines of city residents. Spitzer estimates the settlement will ultimately cost between $4 billion and $6 billion a year. Even a small fraction of that amount would add substantially to the city’s tax burden, which is already among the heaviest in the nation. Before New Yorkers cast their ballots, they have a right to know how much more weight Spitzer would place on their shoulders.

When Spitzer says “most people” understand the city must pick up some of the cost, he really means most people in Albany - where pols are predictably eager to shove responsibility onto others.

Absolutely right!