The American Federation of State and County Municipal Employees (AFSCME) today launched a statewide radio ad campaign calling on legislative leaders to tax the rich instead of looking to cut the public payroll.

The union also released the results of a poll conducted by National Opinion Research that found 63 percent of New Yorkers would prefer to see a temporary income tax increase on the state’s highest earners (1 percent for those who make more than $1 million and 2 percent for those who make over $5 million) over education funding cuts of between $800 million and $1.4 million.

“After seeing the Peter Hart (NYSUT) poll conducted in three Senate districts we wanted to see if the rest of the state shared the same feelings,” said AFSCME political and legislative director Brian McDonnell.

“The results clearly show that the public overwhelmingly wants the wealthiest New Yorkers to pay more than they pay now and that they are not currently paying their fair share. The public gets it and the Legislature should start listening to what they want instead of making cuts that will devastate the state’s vital services.”

The Assembly Democrats are on board with this idea, a version of which has also been floated by the Working Families Party.

Gov. David Paterson this morning said taxes would be preferable to borrowing when it comes to closing the budget deficit, but he didn’t specify what kind of taxes. He has proposed things like the soda tax (the Legislature doesn’t like this) and a $1 increase on the cigarette tax.

Earlier this week, Paterson said he’s looking at moving up the layoffs of public employees into the current year instead of leaving it for his successor to deal with.

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