So no one in power wants Governor Paterson to run for Governor. And no one in power wanted Tom Suozzi to run for Governor in 2006. And no one wants a primary challenge to Senator Gillibrand. Why? Because Governor and Senator are among the only contested elections in New York. Legislative and Congressional districts are gerrymandered, ballot access and other rules screen out non-insiders, incumbents get all the special interest money, and careerists wait for their turn to be appointed. And elections are not what people with excess privileges want, particularly as the cost of past deals and favors and the current crisis is shifted entirely to the vast majority of people, people who don’t matter. They are not to be given choices. Which is how many are driven to extreme choices.

I’m not sure I’d call Governor Paterson a hero for deciding the serfs of New York will have their public services gutted instead of having their nation-leading taxes raised, cutting the benefits only of future public employees, and directing most of the pain to New York City, while not demanding those with great deals — retired public employees, existing employees who do not work, and today’s seniors in general — give up anything. In fact, the state legislature would never allow anyone other than the serfs to be sacrificed anyway. But with the political class uniting around the next “one and only choice” presumably guaranteed to preserve all the deals and keep the vested interests vested, Paterson is like a cornered animal, and there is no telling what he might say.

Suddenly, and a decade too late, the press is buzzing with talk of state and local government bankruptcies.  State and local governments face a lost decade due to debts and retirement obligations, run up by privileged members of previous generations so they could have a better deal, according to the Wall Street Journal.  “Besides the near-term crisis, the other similarity states have with the old GM is an overhang of debt. Between 2000 and 2008, state debts—distinct from other municipal debts—almost doubled to about $1 trillion, according to the Census Bureau.” The burden of this debt has been masked by low interest rates, but these cannot be expected to continue. New York State, particularly New York City, is near the top in debts as a share of its residents's income.

“The bigger issue is retirement obligations. Like GM, many localities have struck generous deals with public-sector workers. In part, this reflected a desire to appease unions with promises for tomorrow that didn't have to be paid for until well after the next election. In a new study, the Pew Center on the States estimates there was a $1 trillion funding gap on $3.35 trillion of state health-care and retirement obligations as of fiscal year 2008.” The New York State pension system is among the least underfunded, although public services will have to be gutted to keep it that way. But the separate New York City pension system, and the MTA, are among the most underfunded.