When lawmakers in Albany cut $427 million from the state budget this summer, an unlikely group of New Yorkers took a hit.Reduced payments to blind war veterans accounted for roughly $233,000 of savings.
Budget cutters left the blind vets' with monthly annuity payments of $88.42, down from $94.06. New York's roughly 4,500 blind veterans received the news in a late-September letter from James D. McDonough Jr., director of the state's Division of Veterans' Affairs.
"The 6 percent cut in the blind annuity was a specific line item reduction approved by state lawmakers," the division said in a statement. "The Division of Veterans' Affairs has no discretion in implementing this reduction."
Many of the 161 blind veterans who live in Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties have decried the move. Veterans said the small cut won't hurt their wallets much; they'll go on without the five bucks. It's the principle that bothers them, especially during the tenure of Gov. David Paterson, who is legally blind....
For its part, Paterson's office said the cut is an unfortunate effect of the national and statewide economic crisis.
"The governor recognizes the critical needs of our veterans who have served our nation with such valor," a spokesman for Paterson said. "Unfortunately, despite our best intentions, the national fiscal crisis continues to take a toll on every area of state spending and will require more across-the-board reductions to ensure a balanced state budget."
Paterson has called lawmakers back to Albany on Nov. 18 for another round of cuts.
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