Working with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and across party lines in New York, we have balanced the budget, made tough spending cuts and avoided any new tax increases. We need immediate and similar leadership in Washington, D.C. to right the tax code and make the tough decisions necessary to right size this budget.

The most recent failure of the Super Committee to reach any agreement at all is beyond disturbing and may force an automatic trigger for a series of spending cuts. The proposed cuts, starting in 2013, will total $1.2 trillion and are divided equally between domestic and defense expenditures. Our state and local governments will feel a heavy impact and immediate effect if this trigger comes to pass.

I am particularly worried with the inability of our federal government to provide real relief to the millions of working families and small business owners not only in our state but across the country. Every iota of effort seems focused on the next political maneuver and the next election. As a state legislature, and in coordination with the governor, we must fight for real, lasting tax reform because it is painfully obvious that Middle America is paying the bills while the super wealthy benefit from loopholes and the 40 percent on the lower spectrum pay nothing at all.

If you are a regular, hard-working American with a net worth somewhere beneath a “gazillionaire,” this government is failing you. New taxes in this broken system will not solve the problem. We need a complete and immediate overhaul of our national tax policy that will make the system itself fair while encouraging, not hindering, real job creation.

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