Randomly Noted

To those fretting about the very real budget problems of U.S. cities and states, their difficulty in fulfilling  financial promises they made and the implications of all that for the market in tax-free bonds, here’s a number that might offer a measure of reassurance. 72. Or, if you like, 77.

These numbers represent the percentages, respectively, of the number of polled New Yorkers who support the tough budget proposal of the state’s new Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo, and the percentage who have a favorable view of him. (The source is the Siena Research Institute.)

That’s New York, the fabled liberal state. Across the river in New Jersey, the controversial Republican governor, Chris Christie, is lighting into government worker benefit and retirement plans that threaten the state’s fiscal future.

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Here’s a smart idea – heavily tax business to close your state budget gap and run the risk of driving those businesses elsewhere.

That’s exactly what is going on in New York state. As part of the negotiations to close the state budget gap, Gov. David Patterson agreed to provisions that would add an extra tax on hedge funds and private equity firms that do business in the state. The governor said he had no choice because he needed to get other revenue raising measures through.

So, enter Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell. In a letter to the New York Hedge Fund Roundtable, Rell made it clear she would welcome any fund managers who wanted to pack their bags and come do business in her state – without the threat of that extra tax looming over their heads.

Patterson today, perhaps realizing the implications of that, finally, said he wants to revisit and reconsider that tax. The populist notion of going after the rich could backfire if funds leave the state – and in fact could leave New York with a bigger budget problem.

David Ansill's play on a "Sloppy Joe" sandwich. His is the "Sloppy Jose."

As many Randomly Noted readers know, this blogger looks for every opportunity he gets to write about the business of food – especially when the subject is good restaurants with inventive chefs.

Last year, two of my favorite restaurants went out of business – victims of the recession. They weren’t the most expensive places in the world but the food was high-end and on the upper end of what people might want to pay to go out and eat. The first to shutter was in Philadelphia and called “Ansill” after the chef by the same name – David Ansill. Prior to running this sizable restaurant with a bar and pretty decent sized staff, David ran a 32-seat BYOB with a handful of staff.

The other restaurant I loved that went under was called Pamplona and it was based in New York on 28th Street. Chef Alex Urena originally had a high-end Spanish restaurant but saw the economics of that would be tough even in good times. He went smaller scale with tapas at Pamplona. The small plates were pricy but very good. He closed last fall.

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Several weeks ago, I promised to provide occasional updates about my family’s house-hunting efforts. After nine years living abroad, we’re returning to the U.S. – northern New Jersey, to be exact – in June. As motivated buyers, I figure we’re a rarity in a truly dismal property environment. I’ve just read a column by the WSJ’s Brett Arends detailing the continuing decline in American house prices. In my mypoic view, the most intriguing phenemonenon continues to be the relatively robustness of the New York metropolitan area.

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