With the state struggling to close budget gaps of some $10 billion during this fiscal year and next, there's a strong temptation to look for ways to raise quick cash. Not surprisingly, then, there's talk of taking the state's tobacco settlement money in one lump sum, which would produce a one-time infusion of more than $3 billion.
But it's a bad idea, and Governor Pataki should reject it. Under the $206 billion national tobacco settlement, New York is scheduled to receive about $1 billion a year through 2025 -- half of which it must share with localities. Thus, it would take six years for the settlement to bring in $3 billion that the state can use. But why squander …
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