LANCASTER, N.Y. — Another day, another component of Republican Marc Molinaro's Empire State Freedom plan.

"This would double the retirement exemption to $40,000 for senior citizen retirees and $80,000 for married couples," he said.

The latest proposal would aim at keeping retirees, and their money, in New York, instead of other states like Florida.

"What we find is certainly those who have the means try to retire someplace else because of tax benefits," Molinaro said.

He said the plan would cost roughly $275 million annually when fully implemented. This comes tied in with other promises to cut the property tax burden by 30 percent over five years and give counties Medicaid mandate relief.

 However, the gubernatorial candidate has yet to explain how he plans to pay for it in any detail.

"You will ask me how we intend to pay for it and by the end of the week we will tell you how we intend to pay for it but where there's a will, there's a way," Molinaro said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-NY, argued there are only a few ways and he was heavily skeptical of his challenger's proposal.

"You'd have to take it out of education or you'd have to raise taxes,” Cuomo said. “They're not going to take it out of education as you know. So it's just a shell game sham."

Economist Fred Floss agreed there are only a few places in state government to find the kind of significant savings Molinaro would need and said it's nearly impossible to judge until he gives more details.

"If you're going to cut taxes, where are you going to cut services or raise other taxes, because without knowing both parts of the pan, you can't make a decision on whether this is a cost-effective plan," Floss said.

The candidate said it's about "right-sizing government.” He used Medicaid as an example of a program which is not running as efficiently as it could be and insinuated the governor lacks imagination.

"This is a tired old argument that generally incumbents like to make, which is you can't possibly save money unless you're cutting things," he said.

The chair of the state Democratic party said Molinaro is recycling failed Republican gimmicks. Molinaro does admit many of his plans have been championed in the state Senate over the years.