Governor Paterson has announced a deal with party leaders that will allow him to withdraw his proposed taxes on non-diet soda, music downloads, porn downloads, movie and concert tickets, golf courses, cigars, massages, beer, wine, and more all seemingly predicated on a notion of making New York the least enjoyable state in America. In their place, he’ll use $1.3 billion in stimulus money, which was intended for state Medicare costs, to help erase the budget deficit. [City Room/NYT, NYP]
