What a way to run a recession.

Times are tough, and there's every reason to believe it will get even tougher before the economy begins to restrengthen.

Families are facing loss of income, loss of health insurance and an uncertain short-term future.

Despite the economic mess we've been handed, it appears that our politicians are not capable of grasping the severity of the situation. That does not surprise me, as I don't believe the present reality is something they understand.

Here in New York State, delusional thinking reigns in Albany. Instead of a spending decrease, our brilliant politicians have elected to increase the state budget from by between 9% and 13%. That is no less than startling.

Led by the Governor, who is blind to the difficulties of his constituents, the state government has elected to cancel the STAR rebate program. This program is of vital importance to low and fixed income homeowners who were already struggling to keep their homes. Now, they must face a significant increase in their annual cost of living. Middle income families will feel this pinch as well. This reduction of their discretionary capital will not stimulate the growth needed to kick the economy up a gear.

Thanks for the help Albany, we'll remember your consideration over the coming elections.

No one should be shocked that new taxes will slam every citizen of the New York. Let's not be fooled. Nearly everything you do or want to do will have a price tag attached by a state government that will not consider its own waste and mismanagement. Lean thinking is the antithesis of government. Doing more with less is what private business must do to survive these times. Government, on the other hand, will always find a way to do less with more.

Does anyone really think that these taxes will be repealed when the economy turns around?

Too many Americans look to government for solutions to problems invariably created by government mismanagement. The federal government pushed balloon mortgages for low income buyers, even when auditors raised the red flag that this was a recipe for a gigantic mess. Banks that balked at these loans were threatened with penalties (the handiwork of "don't blame me" Barney Frank).

Let's face the reality that the best and brightest don't go into government. These people go into the private sector where excellence is rewarded and incompetence is weeded out. Once again we stumble upon the antithesis of government, where incompetence is accepted and allowed to thrive.

Until we decide that we will no longer tolerate the abject incompetence and detached reasoning of government, we will be at the mercy of small-minded bureaucrats. Most bureaucrats, as individuals, could not hope to compete in the private sector, where continuous improvement is mandated for success.

Call your State and Federal representatives. Raise hell. Bury them in e-mails. Call their offices, as often as you can. Do not surrender your financial future to these dull witted nincompoops.