The M.T.A. is about to have a fiscal problem -- big bills for maintenance and expansion, with limited sources of income unless the authority raises the base fare again, which is considered a political black hole.
Yet here's what you said on Wednesday: "Actually, it turns out that we do not really have a fiscal problem of moment until we get beyond the end of this decade... deficits even under the president's program beyond these next two years [will be] in areas where the rate of debt to G.D.P. does not move up in any way which suggests we are in an unstable system".
"People have a political problem with raising the debt, but our country has a fiscal problem".
"Clearly, the city has a fiscal problem," he said, "and the revenues from the leases that the Port Authority has are a lot of money.
"But as soon as Suozzi came in and the lid was finally off the size of the problem in Nassau, the emphasis then turned to Suffolk, as soon as it came to light that they also had a fiscal problem".
"Well, all of us, the Senate, the Assembly, and certainly myself understand that it is not just the state that has a fiscal problem, the city does, too," Mr. Pataki said.
In contrast, the United States has a simple fiscal problem – as I discussed in my testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee this week.
Second, while the government does have a long-run fiscal problem, that problem is overwhelmingly driven by rising health care costs.
Contrary to the Bush team's rhetoric, America does not have a small, temporary fiscal problem.
America does have a long-run fiscal problem, driven by the combination of rising health costs, an aging population, and the unwillingness to raise taxes to pay for the programs we already have.
In the long run, he said, "Given the tax cutting we've done to date and the obvious spending requirements we have with defense and homeland security, we're going to have a very serious fiscal problem".
