Our speaker at LIMBA this morning was the president of the Long Island Association, Kevin Law.  He began by giving us a briefing on the origins of the organization The LIA was created almost 90 years ago. The first meeting place was Penn Station, and while the venue was New York City, the purpose was to lure NYC business to Long Island

The organization moved to the Garden City Hotel. Then for a time it was located in Commack and is now in Melville.  The organization functions on finances derived from dues and meeting fees as well as fund raising events. It receives no government funds allowing it to be free to be critical of government when they deem it to be needed.  

The LIA has had a significant focus and impact on tax policy over the years. Presently they are concentrating on the disparity of revenues going out to Albany and Washington and revenues coming back. The outflow of dollars according to Kevin Law is $60 billion and the dollars that come back are $ 30 billion. While Mr. Law expects there to be some disparity he feels this difference cannot be justified.

Kevin spoke about the so-called $5 billion dollar surplus which in reality is a one-time recovery brought about by several legal settlements. Law said he would like to see that money go into infrastructure improvements. Included in his recommendations were improvements to the Long Island Railroad, MacArthur Airport, and our sewer systems.

The Q&A period was quite lively and covered a number of topics. He was asked about immigration policy and his response to that question was that we need to have a general reform.  The audience was appreciative of the fact that Kevin tried to answer all of the questions thoughtfully.

Ernie Fazio

We appreciate the efforts of the LIMBA staff Ken Nevor, Marguerite Moore Fazio, Bill Miller, Annette Krauss and Michelle Zere,

Our sponsor was Gold Coast Bank – presentation was made by Jim Johnis- Thank you

Our reliable associate Annette Krauss has been unemployed and would appreciate any help or suggestions regarding employment opportunities. Her resume is available through LIMBA

Radio interviews on LI News Radio can be heard at various times on Saturday and Sunday. However they can be heard at any time on www.ernestlyspeakingradio.com  our podcast.

Please be sure to attend next week when the WSHU station manager will be presenting at LIMBA. WSHU is a public radio affiliate and has access to the most sophisticated journalists in the country. You can sponsor this meeting