The way things are going with the budget in Albany, Governor Pataki, Senator Bruno, and Speaker Silver might as well go ahead and change the motto of New York State. “Excelsior” is the motto that heretofore has graced the state shield. This could easily be changed to “Excise.” It would be appropriate given the binge under way on excise taxes. The tax on cell phones is outrageous (we wonder whether The New York Times might comment on it if the honorable legislators were to put through an excise tax on newspaper sales). But for sheer greed, it’s hard to imagine anything topping the tax hike about to be signed for cigarettes. For greed and unintended consequences.

A proposal by Mayor Bloomberg, which is going to raise the tax on cigarettes in the city to $1.50 a pack from 8 cents, amounts to a tax increase of 1,775%. State law doesn’t permit New York City to do this without an okay in Albany, which has twice in the past few years raised its own excise tax on cigarettes, most recently, on April 2, to $1.50 a pack from $1.11. The idea of the state excise tax increase was that this would go to health care, a sop to Dennis Rivera and Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union.

As it happens, New York City represents 40% of the total cigarette sales in the state. So the rumor is that the behind the scenes maneuvering has involved an effort by the state to protect itself from the possibility that the excise tax the city wants would cut into the state’s take from what the early settlers in America called the Divine Herb. This is the spectacle that greets those who gaze on Albany — our elected officials fighting over the lucre from their decision to go into the cigarette business.

Whether they can force New Yorkers to go along is hard to say. One of the unintended consequences of these tax increases is that many smokers will avoid the excise tax. They will drive out of state to purchase cigarettes or use 800 numbers to order their smokes from native American reservations that have enough sovereignty so that the state can’t impose excise taxes there. If Mr. Bloomberg’s scheme goes into effect, a carton of cigarettes will cost about $70 in the city, more than $40 a carton over the average cost on native American reservations and more than $26 more than a carton in, say, Connecticut.

Importantly, the excise tax binge in Albany is in its overall conception highly regressive. That is to say, it seeks to cover the state’s inability to control its spending by imposing taxes that impact most heavily on the poor and minorities. The cigarette tax in particular does this — not only because of the patterns of tobacco use but also because of employment patterns. The National Association of Convenience Stores estimates that 36% of store sales comes from sale of cigarettes. Some 70% of individuals working in those stores identify themselves as minorities, according to one survey. Store owners, many of whom are minority entrepreneurs, will also be devastated. In short, New York State is way past the point where it has room for these kinds of excises. The better way to cover its shortfall would be to seek supplyside measures that remove restraints on the economy and promote economic growth. Then the State would be worthy of the motto “Excelsior.”