In most of the country, property taxes have gone down as home values have declined. Not in New York. Property taxes in the Empire State, already roughly twice the national average, are rising despite the recession. Even as upstart candidates ride the wave of taxpayer discontent to electoral victories around the country, tea-party groups have only recently appeared in New York. Why?

New York leads the country in dissatisfaction with state government. According to a May 2010 SurveyUSA poll, 76 percent of New Yorkers disapprove of the job the state legislature is doing. Disdain for “Albany insiders” and “career politicians” stretches from Broadway to Buffalo. Could the tea-party movement be an effective response to this discontent?

This discussion brings together Steven Malanga, a critic of public sector-spending, and Jacob Weisberg, a liberal who takes issues of fiscal prudence seriously. Please join St. Francis College and the Manhattan Institute for a lively discussion and debate.

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