Gov. David Paterson's $131.8 billion budget proposal isn't sitting too well with residents of the Hudson Valley.
Paterson is proposing to close a record two-year deficit of $17.7 billion with new taxes and fees. Those taxes include levies on beer and wine, an automobile insurance surcharge and a deposit on bottled water.
Even those who think the plan needs to be carried out have their qualms.
"We have to bite the bullet, but it seems to me the bullet is always bit by the poor working person, no one else," says Joan Corcoran of South Nyack.
Displeasure with the plan is shared by average residents and those in the business community.
"The budget makes it more difficult but it's the way the departments are being run," says Ronald Hicks, president of the Rockland Economic Development Corporation. "It's the lack of vision ... lack of focus on job creation."