Category: News and Opinion

State Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos has an op-ed in the Party’s house organ, the New York Post titled –

Ending one-party rule in New York

In it, Skelos writes:

“As we've seen in New York, one-party rule breeds arrogance and contempt for taxpayers”

….

“Voters across New York face a clear choice: Continue one-party Democratic rule, or restore bipartisan governance that's responsive to the taxpayer.  We've seen the consequences of one- party rule in Albany: More taxes, more spending — and more people unemployed. That just won't cut it anymore.”

Government should always try its best to avoid screwing the little man/woman. You know: the everyday people; the ordinary people like you and I. You see, without government we are left alone to the vagaries of greedy capitalists and unscrupulous speculators. Without government protections the strong and the wealthy will have too much power; much more than they already have. Much more than they already abuse. 

Between the years 2001 and 2003, the residents of four dilapidated high rise towers in Brownsville, Brooklyn, were forced to relocate by the government of New York City. There were 368 apartment owners involved in this undertaking, and the lives of more than a thousand residents were possibly disrupted. The apartments were known as Prospect Plaza, in a nexus near Eastern Parkway, including small sections of Prospect Place and Saratoga Avenues.

Okay; so I hate political dynasties: it’s simple as that. Anything that seems to possess the trappings of royalty brings out the left-winger in me. Plus; in general, I find there is a tendency towards corruption once you allow one family to hold on to political power in any one area for too long. That’s just my suspicion; that’s all.  I am making no accusations against anyone (or any group) here. Please, be mindful of that. I am just giving you a peek inside my scrambled brain that’s all -whether you want to peek in or not. LOL.

Anyway, over the years I have worked with many candidates who tackled the Boyland clan in Brownsville. At one time or another, the Boylands have simultaneously held the 55th Assembly seat; plus the 41st City Council seat; plus the district leaderships (both male and female) in the 55thAD.  Plus they have even had family members on the local School Board. And they are colorful political players too. In fact, I have to admit that Brownsville has given us many colorful characters in the “game” of politics; but I will save that for another column.

The travails of the news media, with declining paid subscriptions and advertising revenues, are well known to all. I wrote a prior post with my suggestion as to how to fund local news coverage. Now, however, the U.S. Supreme Court has given me a new idea. A new type of newspaper could be created that would consist entirely of "news" that people had paid to put in it.

No longer would corporations and unions have to fund "think tanks" to issue "reports" that PR flacks then pushed reporters to write articles on as "news." The reporters would be eliminated, cutting costs. No longer would publishers have to agonize over whether to, for example, publish articles pointing out that there is a housing bubble or private motor vehicles kill a lot of people and are bad for he environment — risking their real estate and auto ads. No longer would the free flow of information be impaired, and the Bill of Rights confounded, by artificial restrictions. The "news" presented would be put up to the highest bidder.

From where I come in politics there is something called “paying dues”; it’s the reason I didn’t vote for Hilary Clinton in the general election of 2000. Although I endorsed her (and voted for her) in the primary that year, when the general election came I found her wanting. To me, the idea of moving into the state and immediately running for senate was revolting: so yes, I went with Rick Lazio (one of the few times I have voted Republican in my life).

Hilary ran all around the state on a “listening tour”, which I thought was an insult to my intelligence. Plus, I saw her candidacy as purely a stepping stone to a presidential run; and that was a turn off.  So if I couldn’t vote for Hilary Clinton (a brilliant woman on many many levels), where the bleep is Harold Ford going with this trial balloon he has been floating for months now? Can you simply pack up a U-HAUL truck one morning, drive a thousand or so miles to New York, and immediately announce that you are contemplating a run for federal office from this state? Gimme a break! There are at least a million people better qualified to represent New York in the senate than this carpetbagger.

The MTA document on service reductions includes the ridership and average cost per ride for every NYC bus route. Even when I was inside NYC Transit, I never saw a tabulation of costs, although ridership was tabulated.

Cost data is provided for LI Bus and MTA Bus Company lines as well, in other reports. And as for rail, it isn’t provided but could be if the MTA would use Metrocard data how much times trains spend on each part of the line to do an estimate as well. Perhaps the cost of maintaining the express tracks could be assigned to outer lines. And for real sophistication, distinguish marginal from average costs, with the marginal cost of additional rush hour riders on the Lexington Avenue line equal to — the cost of the Second Avenue Subway. Finally, look at the dedicated MTA taxes paid by those in different areas, relative to the level of subsidy, not including the portion that is sucked away by the past (debts, unfunded past pensions, etc). The more the better.

And as one who cares about Jack’s future, I’m sick of it.

Like Albany, our health care financing system is not “dysfunctional,” but rather functions very well for those with power and privilege.

Today’s senior citizens get government-funded health care without limit, funded in part by a tax that workers pay and the retired do not, and in part by borrowing on such a scale that there is no chance that (absent some restraint) Medicare will be there for younger generations when they need it.

Public employees also get the same deal – virtually unlimited health care paid for by less well off taxpayers who increasingly do not have health insurance themselves, particularly if they are in younger generations.