Governor Cuomo shows us how big his deficit is. (Getty)

Governor Cuomo gave a grim forecast for New York after his emergency powwow with financial advisors to discuss the consequences of the failed Congressional supercommittee. In a statement released after the meeting, Governor Cuomo blasted "Washington's inability to get its fiscal house in order and work in a bipartisan fashion" and said the debacle would cost New Yorkers at least $5 billion.

Earlier this evening, Congress announced that the bipartisan supercommittee failed to agree on a plan to cut $1.2 trillion from federal budgets. The supercommittee's inability to reach a deal ahead of its Wednesday deadline will trigger a series of drastic, automatic budget cuts. Governor Cuomo said those cuts will have a huge impact on New York.

"If the committee fails to reach an agreement and Congress moves forward with its so-called 'sequestered cuts,' the Budget Division estimates that New York could lose approximately $5 billion in federal funding over 10 years beginning this coming fiscal year," Governor Cuomo said.

New York currently relies on federal aid for about 30% of the total state budget. Along with decreasing federal aid, the supercommittee's failure is expected to cause woes on Wall Street, which will further impact the state's coffers.

"This does not account for additional revenue losses from jobs losses and Wall Street declines. These events, combined with a stagnant national economy and the expanding fiscal crisis in Europe that has led to a sudden and severe decline in revenues for the state, have dramatically changed the fiscal course of the state," Governor Cuomo said.

Approximately 20% of the state budget comes from personal income, business and sales taxes collected from financial industry workers. Therefore, tough times on Wall Street hit the state budget hard. Anemic Wall Street returns for the first part of this year have already caused a $400 million budget shortfall and markets began diving deeper earlier today in anticipation of the supercommittee's imminent failure.

Governor Cuomo said he's having his Council of Economic and Fiscal Advisors "draw up an expedited job creation and fiscal stabilization plan" to prepare for the economic perfect storm set to hit the city in the wake of the supercommittee's collapse.

"This proposal would be based on the reality that the best way to generate revenue for the state and revitalize our economy is to create jobs," Governor Cuomo said.

State Senator Jeffrey Klein looks on as Jose Perez shares his foreclosure story. (Photo: Max Seddon)

With the holiday season approaching and the weather taking a turn for the worse, a group of activists and politicians led by Bronx/Westchester state senator Jeffrey Klein rallied today for more foreclosure counseling and legal aid funding in next year’s budget.

“Preventing foreclosures not only keeps hard-working New Yorkers in their homes now, but saves our neighborhoods from devastating ripple effects later,” Mr. Klein said outside the Center Street courthouse. “Property values go down, crime goes up, and our tax base shrinks with every boarded-up home in our community.”

Klein, whose constituency has one of the highest foreclosure rates in New York, is advocating a renewal of the $25 million in funds allocated to the state’s Housing Trust Fund Corporation in 2008. Since then, programs funded by the agency have saved the state $1.9 billion in lost property value and tax revenue while keeping more than 14,000 families in their homes, according to Mr. Klein.

This year’s budget, however, did not renew the $47 million allocated over the previous two years. With further cuts predicted for the 2012-13 budget – and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s intransigence over renewing the “millionaire’s tax” – foreclosure programs will lose 70% of their staff and 76% of their current operating capacity, according to the Empire Justice Center, a public interest law firm.

“Because of the meltdown in the banking industry, much of which is due to their illegal practices and very loose regulations over the housing industry, the cuts have to hit homeowners,” Adriano Espaillat, ranking member on the State Senate’s housing committee, said at the rally. “Twenty-five million dollars is a drop in the bucket to save the American dream of thousands of New Yorkers who worked very hard to own their own home.”

Fallout from the 2008 sub-prime mortgage crisis continues to resonate in New York, though the state has suffered less relative to many other states. Eric Schneiderman is one of only two attornies general to resist a White House-backed settlement with banks over mortgage fraud, and has launched an investigation into alleged illegal behavior by banks handling mortgages and foreclosures before the crisis.

Meanwhile, more and more New Yorkers find themselves facing foreclosure. Over 1,800 city homeowners have received notices from their banks since September, according to Mr. Klein: without an advocate to defend them, these households alone could lose the city over $18 million.

“Because I’m disabled, they tried to tell me I couldn’t stay in my home,” Jose Perez, a father of four whose faced eviction after his Staten Island home was damaged by flooding, said at the rally. “But because of these people that help the poor and the city workers that work so hard to pay taxes, I’m able to keep my home," he continued, close to tears. "Hard-working New Yorkers want to stay in their homes so that they can spend Christmas and the holidays with their families.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo (Getty)

During an appearance on "Live from the State Capitol" this morning, Governor Andrew Cuomo told radio host Fred Dicker the situation with the state budget is "grim." He blamed the situation on tough times on Wall Street and described the current backlash against the financial industry as "hyperbole" fueled by "extremist groups on steroids."

New York State collected approximately $400 million less in tax revenues than was expected for the for the first half of the fiscal year. Governor Cuomo told Mr. Dicker that the revenue shortfall would have a drastic effect on next year's budget.

"Look, I don't know anyone who doesn't say the numbers are worrisome," Governor Cuomo said.

Governor Cuomo identified Wall Street's cash flow problems major cause of the tax revenue shortfall that is wreaking havoc on the budget.

"Wall Street for us is very important and the way they pay on Wall Street, and the bonuses that they pay are very important to us, and we tend to feel that or start to gauge that now towards the end of the year when these [budget] decisions are being made and the revenue starts to come in. The news is not good," Governor Cuomo said.

Governor Cuomo's comments about Wall Street's importance to New York State prompted Mr. Dicker to ask about politicians who support the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has labeled those who work in the financial industry "the one percent."

"Many people in your party, maybe they're a fringe, but they're certainly high profile, demonize the people on Wall Street, bill them as the money grubbing one percenters. … What do you make of that, if you'll except the phrase, demonization of Wall Street?" Mr. Dicker asked.

Governor Cuomo said he thinks anti-Wall Street sentiment is fueled by "a lot of hyperbole on both sides."

"I think there's a lot of stress in society and anxiety in society, and I think you see extremist groups on steroids at this time. So, there's a lot of rhetoric, a lot of hyperbole. I like to stick with facts and evidence and numbers to make decisions," Governor Cuomo said.

Several prominent New York State Democrats including Congressman Chuck Rangel, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Governor Cuomo's predecessor, David Paterson, have expressed support for the Occupy Wall Street protests.