....November 20, 12:39 PM
 
 
 
A Doomsday Movie Plays
In The NYS Legislature

By MICHAEL SCHENKLER


Follow me on Twitter @QueensTribune

Saw the doomsday movie 2012 and shortly thereafter sat down to write this column.

Although the end of the world scenarios differ greatly, our state – y’know, New York – is on the precipice of financial disaster and the guys driving the bus are deaf, dumb and blind. (Please note that “blind” is not used to mock the handicap of the Governor but to describe the condition that he and all of the jokers in Albany suffer from when it comes to finding a solution to any serious problem requiring cooperation of the New York State Legislature. And “dumb” is used as part of the expression, but specifically because it also means “lacking intelligence or good judgment,” a perfect description of the New York State Legislature.)

Years ago, I started calling our NYS Legislature the 50th best in the nation; then in 2004 – more than five years ago, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law named the New York State Legislature the Nation’s Most Dysfunctional. They validated my oft-criticized label.

As the past five years progressed, the legislature shouted reform, passed cosmetic rule changes and accomplished nothing. Indictments, convictions, scandals, corruption, offensive fundraising, ethically challenged behaviors and stalemates stole the headlines. Stories of progress or meaningful legislation have been nowhere to be found in our State’s Capitol for a decade or more.

It’s not just the present-day jokers in place in Albany; it is the culture of corruption and self preservation that has dominated Albany for years.

But we are in a recession; revenue from Wall Street mortgage tax and everything else won’t be there to solve the problem this time. One-time revenuers won’t hide the problem this time. The New York State house of cards that has been built on a foundation of its deficit budget, and is about to come tumbling down. And friends, we’re the ones who will get hurt – New York’s middle class. Serious cuts to libraries, education, health care, domestic violence centers, homeless shelters, probation centers, state parks and more will be inevitable if the NYS Legislature does not act immediately.

If they do not act, New York will run out of money sometime in the next month.

With a present day budget gap of more than $3 billion and growing, and future deficits dwarfing that, cosmetic negotiated budget shifting that is typical of Albany leadership is not an alternative.

Tough work and tough decisions are a must. And all we have are the same jokers as we’ve had in Albany for years and sadly they are led by a guy who has demonstrated as much leadership ability as they have demonstrated integrity.

Last week’s special session was another do-nothing Albany session reminiscent of the summer games when some of the Amigos were trading their votes. The governor has other special sessions planned, but he has not demonstrated the ability to round up votes and the legislature is really run by too many special interests to attend to the crisis management task at hand.

The three men in a room don’t really even know who they are. Only Shelly Silver has matured on the corrupt system and can manage his third of the pie. Once the Assembly members get done feeding their needs, Shelly will come to the table with some crumbs and his solution. The Senate is a much sadder story. The politics, the incompetence and the singular desire driving both parties to gain control as they go into a redistricting year, prevent an incompetent house from even attempting to do its job incompetently.

The governor, who is going through the motions trying to convince us all that he running for reelection, is really running for his life. The David Paterson Show is being orchestrated to find the Governor a gentle landing place and exit strategy so that Andrew Cuomo can win in 2010 and hopefully be more of a savior than Paterson’s predecessor with the mandate and the hooker.

Yes, I’m fed up. I’m fed up with my State and the impact it has and will have on my City. I am fed up with the taxes which don’t go to provide the services. I’m fed up with the member items and culture of corruption in Albany. I’m fed up with those rooting for Joe Bruno because he’s a nice guy like Brian McLaughlin and Tony Seminerio and, and, and.

I’m fed up with the fact that the New York State Legislature is a joke and we are facing the most critical financial moment in the State’s history and all I can imagine is that the jokers in Albany are going to again live up to expectations.

In New York, 2012 is upon us and there are no heroes in Albany.

God help us all!


MSchenkler@QueensTribune.com

Michael Schenkler can be reached via this contact form.
 
 
Why The Lethargy In The Mayoral Race?

Henry Stern
By HENRY STERN

This was written as the mayoral race was fast approaching its finish line.

We have not seen a mayoral election which aroused so little excitement since Mayor Robert F. Wagner (Dem-Lib) won a second term in 1957 by defeating the Republican candidate, Robert K. Christenberry, who was postmaster of New York in the Eisenhower administration.

Mayor Wagner, the second mayor in the 20th century to be elected to three terms, (the first was LaGuardia and the third was Koch) was the son of New Deal Senator Robert F. Wagner, author of landmark legislation protecting labor’s right to organize and establishing Social Security.

We ask why there has been relatively little excitement about this election. An article on that subject appears in this week’s Village Voice, written by Tom Robbins. He criticizes his colleagues in the press as well as the mayor and notes it “is an odd blessing for a man who made his fortune as a media mogul.”

Another irony is that, critical as many people are about various things the mayor has said or done over the last eight years, and annoyed as they may be over the term limits extension, they are likely to vote for Bloomberg because this is a race between two men, not between the mayor and an abstract standard of virtue.

The argument that while many politicians are corrupt because they take money, Bloomberg is suspect because he gives money is hard for people to swallow.

Some people believe that it is unfair for one candidate to spend much more than the rivals. The most expensive campaign will founder if people do not believe the candidate’s message, no matter how often they see it on television. Political history abounds with stories of rich men who ran for office and lost. Ross Perot and Tom Golisano are two. For an earlier example, William Randolph Hearst ran for Mayor of the City of New York, in 1905 and 1909, and Governor in 1906. He had a printing press as well as a fat purse, but he did not win. In the classic film loosely based on his life, “Citizen Kane,” two stacks of newspapers have been prepared for distribution as soon as an election result is reached. One says “KANE ELECTED.” The other says “FRAUD AT POLLS!”

Wealth gives a candidate an edge, and allows him to bring his message to the voters, but unless the message resonates, and is supported by credible evidence or persuasive argument, it is unlikely to succeed. Between two candidates of similar reputation and level of recognition, money is an important factor.

Many voters will support or oppose candidates because of their race, religion, ethnicity, gender, physical attractiveness or sexual preference. Others are concerned with ability and ideology. Most make their choices for a combination of the categories listed above. That’s the way it is.

In most cases, when an incumbent is challenged, people will vote on the basis of whether they believe the incumbent has done a good job, and whether they think that the challenger can do better. When the race is for an open seat, advertising and campaigning is likely to have a greater impact.

One fact not mentioned so far this year is an old belief that African-American candidates do better at the polls than at the voting booths, because people don’t want to appear prejudiced, but have no problem expressing racial preferences in private.

Now that we have a black President, black Governor and a black candidate for Mayor, these matters are looked at differently than they were years ago.

But as some aspects of American life have changed for the better, others have changed for the worse. By measuring children born out of wedlock, prison population, drug addiction, unemployment and underemployment, education and language gaps, the loss of what are viewed as 19th century virtues, and lack of participation in public affairs, we know that social problems remain. We cannot help observing, however, how little elected officials have to do with many of these issues, and how in fact they try to avoid them rather than spending that elusive asset known as “political capital.”

The strength of a democracy is based in part on how much its citizens know.

StarQuest@NYCivic.com

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Michael Schenkler can be reached via this contact form.