BUDGET...
Governor Paterson has suggested leasing the state's bridges and highways. He mentioned the idea during a news conference last week where he discussed the state's budget problems. About 20 other states are also considering the issue, and Indiana and Illinois have already leased some highways to private companies - while New Jersey eventually rejected the idea.
ENERGY...
Governor Paterson has not supported suspending the state's gas tax, questioning whether it would actually affect prices at the pump. He has created a commission to devise a plan for the financially struggling MTA, and some believe that commission will resurrect a congestion pricing plan - while others (notably Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver) say that idea is dead.
PRESIDENT...
Paterson recently told the National Press Club: "The vice presidential pick that Senator Barack Obama would choose that would help him win New York, I think, would be any of about 10 or 15 people whose names I won't bother to run through, starting with our own senator, Hillary Clinton ... The candidate that would help John McCain win New York would probably be a resurrection."