Last week, we noted how Gov. Andrew Cuomo brought $1 billion to the city of Buffalo. It was a nice gesture, but it does nothing to fix the high-tax and overabundance of government and school districts that plague Western New York.
By the way, that $1 billion is all taxpayer dollars.
Here in Dunkirk, NRG Energy Inc. announced a project in July that is $700 million of its own investment to change the facility from being coal to natural-gas powered. It would seem like a no-brainer, especially with the power problems downstate from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
But while finding time to dole out big public dollars in the Queen City, Albany seems to have been too busy to make a decision on the state's power needs for the future.
Spending $1 billion to create jobs - in a volatile Western New York economy without fixing long-term debilitating problems - is a risk. Allowing a private entity to invest in jobs already here provides a reward and stability to the city, the schools and county.
