FrankLowe: many governments are amuck, and amuck governments create laws. If an individual does not like a law that's their choice. They don't have to obey that law and risk the consequences. If an elected official or law enforcement officer does not like a law, regardless of their personal position about a law, does not exempt them from not enforcing that law because they took an oath to the people that they would enforce a law made by a law making body. Laws can be changed. Many should. That's up to the people to demand change from their law makers. Common sense is a relative concept. What is common sense to one person may not be to another. If people do not like the actions of lawmakers, the people can change who are the lawmakers via elections.

FrankLowe: I have nothing against gun owners. I do have a problem with selective law enforcement. So if they don't want to enforce a law, go to a state that will let them do that. That has nothing to do with guns. Law enforcement and gun ownership have nothing to do with each other.

Regardless of your position on this particular law, what part of the oath an elected official and law enforcement officer takes regarding law enforcement don't these people understand? Now they want to pick and choose the laws they decide to enforce? Isn't that called anarchy? If they don't like it here in NY maybe they should find some state that will take their county. There's probably plenty to choose from.

jlgnews & justapto: Most people here will not give up their Mayberry RFD because they know that the state will ultimately bail out their lousy little school district or crummy town and village when they cry to their state representative. Their state reps. are to blame for voting to send good money after bad to these places to keep them going because most state reps. were local yokels before they became a state politico. And Cuomo is to blame for not taking a strong enough stand toward these local political hacks. If Cuomo's enticement to pay for consolidation of municipal govt. and school districts doesn't get people's attention, who's kidding who? It just continues as one big circle jerk.

It's going to take a lot more than a nudge by the governor to merge and consolidate. The only way it will happen is when the people finally accept the fact that they can no longer financially sustain a Colonial Era form of local government, and force their local politicians and school boards to give in. Or, the State will need to mandate mergers and consolidations for the sake of everyone. That's the only way local property taxes have any chance of getting lower.

albright1: You don’t want to get into this again you say, yet you do. Then so will I. Since I am in a different “pool” than you, the pool I belong to is very expensive for a number of reasons you say. Because older people have higher medical costs? So there are no younger people in this pool who buy their own individual insurance because their employer does not provide it? The small business workers are younger for some reason you say. For what reason could that be? So small business owners don't have non-young workers? And that the wholesale takeover of the health care system by the government can only end badly, you say? If you actually know how and why it would end badly, please share with us your knowledge about the subject. Otherwise if you don't know, your statements that do not conclude with any meaningful information are meaningless.

albright1: Regardless of how the health plan premiums are calculated - by you, me or the actuaries - there is one thing for sure. If you are a small business owner who participates in the Healthy NY program that makes it possible for you to provide health insurance for you and your employees, I do subsidize your low premiums via the taxes I pay to the State of New York. And if you are one of those people, I accept your thank you for my contribution that allows you to get the low rates that you get. If you are not one of those people, I hope that you can continue to receive the low $1300 monthly premium that you get however you get it well into the future.

wmarincic: You have your example of a person who has employer willing to kick in and you paid a $950/mo. premium for what seems like a lousy health plan that cost you $31,600 for the year. What about people like me who do not have an employer willing to kick in. That's what got me about the guy Fischer, a small business owner, complaining because he's paying ONLY $1400/mo. for his entire family which to me is an entitlement funded by people like me because my egregious premium subsidizes his low cost. The health care providers that he can use are probably the same ones that I can use. So why is his premium so much lower than mine? And he has the nerve to cast stones at a government initiative that is intended to help him, you, me and everyone with their health care cost. That's what the "affordable" means with the Affordable Care Act. And that's why I believe people like him are clueless as to what this is all about. A further rub is if the reason why he only pays $1400/mo. is because he, as a small business owner, participates in the Healthy NY program, which he gets to have because you and I subsidize him with our taxes.

albright1: And in conclusion, these state mandates that you reference sound a lot like the requirements of Healthy NY for small business owners that mandate choices about deductibles, prescription drug coverage and family member coverage with their contribution amounts. If that's the case, my tax dollars are helping to subsidize your ability to provide health insurance for your employees - and the only thing I'm getting from it is personal financial pain.

albright1: So in the final analysis of all this going back and forth, you admit that you get your $1300/mo. health plan premium because you are a business owner. So why did you make the statement that I'm being taken to the cleaners when you knew darn well that I cannot get what you have and you know people who are also paying high premiums? I am being taken to the cleaners because I have no choice - like you might have. So back to the original letter from the Obamacare hating guy complaining about his 23% increase for his inexpensive $1400/mo family health plan premium. That guy needs to hallucinate more in the alternate universe that he lives in and maybe read more input from people who have "real" health insurance cost concerns.