I had to pull these from one of the Liberal/Progressive/Radical Blogsites.  Yesterday, there were a whole bunch of them on some of the bigger news blogsites, but they seem to be gone today.  Are they being retracted by those who released them?  Or did the media agree to keep them posted for just one day?  Who knows.  Here you go:

This is what Jennifer March Joly, Executive Director of the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York had to say about Paterson’s budget proposals:
“While the Governor’s announced Executive Budget was encouragingly wrapped in language about ’spending effectively’ and ’shared sacrifice’, it unfortunately falls short of a fair solution to protect New York’s neediest and distribute the impact of the economic crisis equitably.
Despite some desperately needed protections for New York’s neediest- such as an increase in the welfare grant next year, expansion of health insurance coverage to older youth, and preservation of uncapped funds for child abuse and neglect prevention- the budget relies heavily on shifting costs to local governments, including cuts in aid to preschool special education and elimination of $250 million from municipality aid to NYC.
Most importantly, the Governor’s plan does not redirect funding saved or revenue raised into programs that can reduce the actual long term need for costly services. The budget will raise taxes on sugar sweetened beverages and alcohol but fails to invest a portion of funds raised in programs to combat obesity or substance abuse and save on long term health care costs. Similarly, the budget would close underutilized juvenile detention facilities across the state; but fails to invest a single dollar saved in alternatives to detention to prevent teens from entering the system in the first place. Instead, the Executive Budget plan focuses exclusively on closing budget gaps as short-term gains, rather than as long-term investments that could reduce future costs. The impact of cuts to home visiting, homelessness prevention, youth programs, and child care among others, will be costly in short and long-term. These cuts will not only impede the ability of localities to address increased human needs in times of economic crisis today but way well require more costly outlays on crisis intervention services.”
Home Care Association of New York State President Joanne Cunningham:
“As the Governor today announced a budget proposal which further slashes home health care to unstable and unsustainable levels, our report released today reveals an already grim financial picture that just got considerably worse.”
“The statistical and field-level evidence in our report confirms that further Medicaid reductions of this kind and level will be catastrophic,” she added. “It forewarns of New York losing as much as half of our home health care agencies given such further Medicaid cuts. Indeed, home care cuts like these would be disastrous for seniors, the sick and persons with disabilities who depend on home care.”

New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) came out with its assessment of Governor David Paterson’s proposed budget today.
ENVIRONMENTAL FUNDING
NYPIRG also urges state law-makers to reject the Governor’s cuts to the Environmental Protection Fund.

HIGHER EDUCATION
NYPIRG urges state lawmakers to reject the governor’s plan to raise the cost of attending public colleges and universities. Increasing tuition (CUNY $600/SUNY $620) and cutting TAP will unduly burden middle income and independent students. Every dollar the state raises with this tuition hike is one less dollar students will have to spend on books, supplies, housing and transport-all expenses that are on rise. Even worse, 80% of the proposed tuition increases would be siphoned off into the general fund, and won’t even be used to restore the $300 million in recent cuts to SUNY and CUNY.
While we are supportive of the governor’s plan to provide lower cost student loans, we are disappointed that he has proposed to undermine rather than improve the TAP program by cutting awards for students with several family members in college, grad students, and students who register for 12-14 credit hours (often because of work and family obligations).
Steven Banks, Attorney-in-Chief, The Legal Aid Society:
“The proposed State cuts for criminal defense and civil legal services will hurt New Yorkers accused of crimes and families and individuals who need legal help in the midst of this severe economic downturn. In the criminal defense area, we cannot keep taking on new cases, provide the constitutionally mandated defense for New Yorkers, and absorb new State cuts on top of $3 million in cuts that we have already sustained in the State and City budgets this year. On the civil side, we have also already suffered $3 million in cuts in the State and City budgets and we are forced to turn away six out of every seven New Yorkers who seek our help, and now with the new State cuts we’ll have to turn away more families and individuals who need legal aid to get unemployment and disability benefits, flee from domestic violence, and prevent evictions, foreclosures, and homelessness which is at record levels in New York City.”
Lillian Roberts, District Council 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO:
“Governor Paterson’s proposed cuts to Medicaid and school aid strike at the heart of a quality of life that 125,000 members of DC 37 works so hard to protect. How can we ask the Have-nots to get us out of this mess when the Have’s brought us to the brink of disaster? Cuts directed at health services are not the answer. For thousands of New Yorkers these services are a lifeline. These budget cuts will only cause harm and possibly even death. Cuts in schools directed at support staff, damage our communities that are already in pain. Hunger is on the rise. How can anyone endanger school feeding and other programs and the federal funds needed to support them? Instead the state should be making sure these funds are used properly. Budget cuts and layoffs are not the answer. They are a round about way to tax on the poor. They put a strain on lifeline services and a burden on the workers who provide them, while. At the same time they jeopardize their jobs. We need a solution that is fair and equitable. We need economic justice. We need a progressive revenue structure that taxes each according to his ability and gives to each according to his need.”

Judy Wessler, Director of the Commission on the Public’s Health System:
“Medicaid dollars should be spent to keep Medicaid patients healthy and out of inpatient hospital care. The Governor had begun a program of reforming Medicaid so that care would be available in community-based settings and safety-net providers would be available in medically underserved communities. The Governor must continue, and ensure this reform, before he slashes Medicaid.”
A coalition of non-profit groups and service providers came together to issue statements about the budget and how it would impact New Yorkers.
As Governor Paterson proposed his 2010 Executive Budget, the One New York: Fighting for Fairness Coalition called on the legislature to adopt broad based progressive revenue measures to soften the blow of the Governor’s $9 billion in proposed cuts.
“While some of the Governor’s revenue proposals make sense, increasing the clothing sales tax and SUNY/CUNY tuition are painfully regressive, hitting those families who have not prospered economically in recent years. The Governor needs to step up to the plate and ask high-earners to pitch in to balance the budget. That was done in 2003 and the sky didn’t fall. Scores of economists from across the state, including Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, have urged the Governor to follow the economically sound course by seeking modest increases in the top individual income tax rates,” added James Parrott, Deputy Director & Chief Economist, Fiscal Policy Institute.
The Coalition- representing more than 200 non-profit organizations, service providers, advocates, and unions that supply front line services to many of New York’s most vulnerable citizens- called on the legislature to examine broad based revenue options such as an increase in the Personal Income Tax for the state’s high income earners. Governor Paterson’s budget raises revenue principally through regressive fees and taxes. The Governor is also proposing billions of dollars in cuts to health, education, human needs, legal services, and other programs that are expected to have a devastating impact on communities throughout New York.
Working Families Party Executive Director Dan Cantor seems to speak for many groups, especially progressives who will view Paterson’s budget proposal as not-so progressive.

This is not shared sacrifice. The Governor proposes to balance the budget in an imbalanced way: by raising taxes on the middle class while simultaneously reducing the services we all rely on.
In this budget there’s a tax on almost everything. Drinking, smoking, driving, food, health care, going to the movies, downloading music, clothes and haircuts. In total, it’s billions in regressive taxes – “nuisance taxes” – that don’t add up to a sensible approach.