Contact: Bill Caldwell, Office of Public Information, Pace University, 212-346-1597, wcaldwell@pace.edu

NEWS SOURCE

Topic: Gov. Paterson's budget cuts and tax increases

“His proposal will hit the middle and working class way too much and also affect small business owners. There are better and more equitable ways to balance the budget, like raising taxes on high income earners.”

Joseph C. Morreale, Ph.D., an economist in public finance, is professor of public administration and economics at Pace University. Professor Morreale is available to comment on Governor David Paterson's proposal calling for budget cuts and tax increases.

“In this economic climate, Gov. Paterson's budget cuts and tax increases will only add to the economic woes we are all facing. His proposal will hit the middle and working class way too much and also affect small business owners. There are better and more equitable ways to balance the budget, like raising taxes on high income earners. What we need much more is to keep up the funding of critical public services (like education and health care) and provide stimulus to households and businesses to increase consumption and investment.”

Professor Morreale is one of more than 100 economists from throughout New York State who signed on to a proposal to Governor Paterson to raise New York’s income taxes in a more progressive and equitable manner rather than imposing steep cuts in needed health care and education as a way to help close the budget gap. In a letter to the governor, the economists urge him to take "a balanced approach" to closing the gap in the state budget between revenues and spending -- that is, an approach that includes raising taxes on high-income households.

Morreale, who has more than 30 years of experience in higher education, is a full professor with tenure in economics and public administration. He was a Provost, Senior Associate Provost and Vice President for Planning, Assessment, Research and Academic Support at Pace. His responsibilities have included strategic planning, financial planning and monitoring the progress of institutional effectiveness.

He is the author of four books and numerous articles for scholarly journals. He has been keynote speaker at a number of conferences and has presented several papers at national meetings of such organizations as the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and the American Council on Education. As an AAHE senior scholar, he is recognized nationally for leadership in higher education administration and has published on post-tenure review and faculty development.

He received a B.A. in economics at Queens College of the CUNY, an M.S. in higher educational administration and finance at the University at Albany-SUNY, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics at the University at Buffalo-SUNY. He has held academic positions at Pace University, Bard College, University of Pittsburgh, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Western Michigan University.

Phone: 914-420-3034 (cell); email jmorreale@pace.edu .

For 102 years Pace University has produced thinking professionals by providing high quality professional education resting on a firm base of liberal learning, amid the advantages of the New York metropolitan area. A private university, Pace has campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, enrolling more than 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in its Lubin School of Business, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lienhard School of Nursing, School of Education, School of Law, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. www.pace.edu

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