You may be wondering why Staten Island wants to secede from New York City, Rockland, Orange and Duchess counties want to secede from the MTA region, Long Island wants to secede from New York State, and Texas wants to secede from the United States. It is because they want to secede from the consequences of past decisions, and stick those consequences on those left behind. For the past 25 years virtually every public decision, non-decision and deal has benefited the narrow interests that have seized control of our public institutions, particularly the State of New York and its associated agencies. These interests disguised the cost from others, and thus avoided opposition, by shifting that cost to the future — in the form of vast public debts, unfunded pension and other retiree obligations, inadequately maintained infrastructure, and unaddressed environmental issues. Now that the past costs are coming due, those seeking secession are looking at what they will pay and get in the future, and deciding they will be ripped off. So they no longer want to be part of the common future.
Well guess what. As a result of those costs from the past, all of us will be ripped off in the future. Every part of the state, country and, if the scientists are right about global warming, world. Those who got the benefits in the past, and those that didn’t, alike.
With regard to public policy, while both U.S. political parties have been complicit in the sell-out of our common future, it is the Republican party that dominated politics for most of those 25 years, and gleefully accused the Democratic party of being against people’s short run interests the few times it stood up for the future. It was a winning strategy, since in the short run deficits apparently don’t matter — politically. And it is the Republican party that has been more popular on Staten Island, Long Island, Rockland, Orange, and Duchess counties and in Texas. Now that we have reached “peak debt” (some time sooner than the expected “peak oil” that game is up, and they want out. Kind of like walking away from a mortgage after ten cash out refis.
So this is what we have to look forward to as the walls close in — the ever growing whine of the selfish seeking to pin the blame and the cost on someone else, to avoid contributing to the increasingly raw deal that our public institutions will be until the inevitable institutional collapse.
As for Staten Island, it is in favor of secession every time the rest of the city has a problem — the last time was in the deep early 1990s recession — but is happy to be a part of the city when the Manhattan money is flowing its way. And the desire is always for secession from costs, not benefits.
Under the previous Staten Island secession bill, Staten Island residents would have been able to take government jobs in the rest of New York City, but residents of the rest of the city would not have been permitted to take government jobs on Staten Island. The suburban deal at the expense of city residents, in other words.
Staten Island is in fact filled with NYC public employees. But the early 1990s secession study claimed that it was less reliant on government jobs than the rest of the city — based on data sources that assign government workers at the headquaters from which employment taxes were paid, not where the employees lived or worked. So there were no cops living or working on Staten Island according to those in favor of secession. They were all in Manhattan at Police Plaza.
Under that bill, the city’s debts would have been apportioned based on property tax revenues, since the city’s tax system favors 1 to 4 family homes and thus Staten Island. Not based on population or income, which would have led to Staten Island taking a much higher share.
State school aid would have treated Staten Island like a suburb — meaning that at the time it would have gotten more, since the “special provisions” like one NYC child actually counting as .95 children (or whatever it was) would no longer have applied.
The city would have been forced to continue providing a wide range of services, including water, to Staten Island on unfavorable terms for the city and favorable terms for Staten Island.
And of course, back in the day everyone on Staten Island assumed that all the money was going to minorities on welfare. Now there are vastly fewer people receiving vastly less public assistance, and our fiscal problems are vastly greater, because the poor didn’t account for very much money in reality.
You want to secede? Fine. Take the debts with you, and lets be honest about the other terms as well. You’ll quickly find that your deal is no worse than anyone else’s, and perhaps better.