Some knucklehead from another state with one of country's worst economic situations posted a Linkedin status that they supported Gov. Patterson's plan to raise New York state income tax rates on AGI income above $300,000 for joint filers and $200,000 for single filers. If only this person understood business instead of despising people who are successful!

The new plan by an inferior governor is sure to exacerbate an already critical problem: Look where New York City is located on Forbes' list places to work in terms of the cost of doing business...and it's not just NYC: Albany is 176, Buffalo 151, Syracuse 163, Long Island 170 (these are out of 200 major cities on this list).

What this will mean to area recruiters is that it will be even more difficult to recruit to the state. As much as the middle-class wants to make an issue about financial success and excoriate people who just happen to earn a great deal of money, when these successful people leave the state and/or move their companies to more supportive areas, see what happens to these middle-class jobs.

I can only assume that our governor really does want the state's economy to succeed; he only wants the bureaucracy to be able to function as it already does. But our government is already large beyond its means...

You know how to tell if a government agency is too big for its britches? Call up any government agency and see how they answer the phone: Department of Labor, this is Mr./Mrs. Smith as if the addition of a title adds a level of importance to their role. The real issue here is the anatomy of a bureaucracy - it exists to continue to grow, to add more meat to inefficient processes, to add more layers to inadequate management. If we want a more effective government we need to re-engineer them with a goal of minimizing the structure.

The recruiters who do business here need to step up and become more politically active instead of either ignoring the reality of the local business environment or making some boneheaded statements from afar.