New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday he would give 5 percent, or $8,950, of his $179,000 salary back to the state to help close its growing budget deficit. 

Cuomo said he hoped to "lead by example" and encourage others to do the same in an attempt to reduce government spending.

In a statement, Cuomo's office announced that several other top aides, including Lt. Gov. Robert J. Duffy, would be taking 5 percent pay cuts to ease the $9.3-billion budget deficit.

The news comes just two days before Cuomo's State of the State where he plans to announce a one-year wage freeze for state workers.

The New York Times reports:

Mr. Cuomo’s own pay cut seemed to some a less-than-subtle act of political posturing, one that would put him in a better position to be able to ask workers to make sacrifices.

“It’s so much easier to go in and say, ‘I’m asking for a wage freeze, but at least that’s better for you than what I’m doing,’ ” said the president of a private-sector union, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid being seen as wading into other unions’ business.

But the pay cuts still drew praise from the big unions.

“It sounds like he’s trying to set a tone that we need to all do our part,” said Stephen Madarasz, a spokesman for the Civil Service Employees Association, the largest union of state workers. “We don’t have any problem with doing our part.”

The governor is also reportedly slashing his office budget by 5 percent.

Cuomo's predecessor, David Paterson, took a 10 percent pay cut in 2009--after much cajoling--but took full pay in 2010.

The governors of South Dakota and Michigan are also expected to take pay cuts to help the economies of their states.