Regarding a recent article in the Sun, in 1970 I was the Conservative Party’s candidate for New York State comptroller. I called for restraint on the state’s budget, to no avail [Oped, “Paterson’s Panic,” July 30, 2008].

At that time, Nelson Rockefeller was a berserk spender as have been his successors for the last 40 years, both Democrat and Republican.

Governor Paterson’s Paul Revere act is laughable. Where has he been for the last 20 years? He has been snoozing in the Albany backwater — only occasionally awakened by the education or civil service lobbies to say “DA” to their latest extortions.

Typically, when inflation went up 3% the governor, then a senator, and his fellow Gilbert and Sullivan band, a.k.a. the New York State Legislature, increased state spending by 6%.

There are no easy solutions to the $26 billion deficit projected over the next three years. Here are some suggestions:

1. Cap all state spending to one-half the rate of inflation.

2. Adopt a term limits law, one that would sweep Sheldon Silver and his merry band of connivers out of the Albany fever swamp.

3. Adopt a recall mechanism that would allow removal by the taxpayers of clowns like Eliot Spitzer and Alan Hevesi.

ANTHONY SPINELLI

New York, N.Y.

‘Obama’s Petri Dish’

Seth Gitell is spot on regarding Deval Patrick’s performance as governor of Massachusetts being a harbinger of things to come when there is an Obama presidency [Oped, “Obama’s Petri Dish,” August 5, 2008].

As he implies, until politicians and people accept a different way of doing things, change is incredibly hard to accomplish. Huge promises of largess to large constituencies requires money the government does not have.

Leaders have a choice of raising taxes or shifting around the way money is spent. As Mr. Gitell implies, with his examples of construction site police and “readiness schools,” Mr. Patrick is trying to get more bang for the buck by circumventing unions. Government contracts with unions have helped bloat expenses way beyond what they should be in most instances.

Mr. Obama will come into office faced with a federal government bloated by the powerful CSEA unions demands, and will be unable to do anything much in the way of change, no matter what his campaign slogan says. Once on the CSEA payroll it is almost impossible to get fired or have your job description changed.

An additional problem lies with the fact that both the House and the Senate likely will be controlled by Mr. Obama’s own party. His negotiating with them for change will be even more difficult because they will feel he “owes” them something. Obama lovers may want to take care what they wish for; they may get it.

SUE KELLY

Katonah, N.Y.