The 10 Regional Economic Development Councils tasked with providing ideas for job growth in New York State have published their reports. There are many good ideas in them. I also approve of the general idea of competition-based economic development proposals. But despite the long work done by the members of the councils, they collectively make one big omission: the large job-creating potential that accompanies investments in mass transit.
For example, the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council recognizes the "transformational potential for the region" when describing the rebuilding of the Tappan Zee Bridge. However the report does not discuss the rebuilding in any detail. Rebuilding the bridge as it was will create many temporary construction jobs and jobs further down the supply chain for the construction. But, as the state recently announced, there won't be any plans for transit on the bridge when the construction begins. Now, while the rebuilding of the bridge itself will cause several of the aforementioned temporary jobs to be created, once the construction is finished, the mid-hudson region will be where it is today: in possession of a functional Hudson crossing for automobiles. The current plans regarding the bridge won't be a major improvement on the status quo.
However, the council failed to notice that Building mass transit on the bridge will not only create jobs during the construction of the bridge, but it will also create jobs when that transit is extended across the I-87 corridor. The Environmental Review Documents regarding the Tappan Zee rebuilding show the extent of potential infrastructure construction across the corridor, be it Commuter Rail or Light Rail. Either scenario conceives of a massive public works project to build rail along the corridor, along with stations and park-and-rides. Imagine how many jobs that would create.
Building transit on this scale would create even more temporary construction jobs than just the bridge replacement. But it would also have the benefit of providing enduring economic benefits to the region; it would add the benefit that commuter rail has roughly 20 times greater movement capacity per line vs that of a highway lane. One commuter rail line in each direction would more than double the transportation capacity of the bridge. And once the rail and stations are built, they would add the benefit of increasing property values along the I-87 corridor. And that would allow for more "smart growth," infill development in the region, which would bring back historic centers of economic activity, the area's downtowns. This would increase the local tax base so property taxes wouldn't have to be so high, and create a virtuous cycle of more economic development. This would provide long-lasting economic benefits to the region, beyond just replacing the current automobile-only bridge with another copy.
Certainly this will cost a lot of money, but with $1 billion allotted to the for the economic councils this year and each year in the foreseeable future, it's a shame that not a dime of that will be spent on this hugely important economic imperative. Just because transit isn't "sexy," doesn't mean it should be ignored.
I have mixed feelings about Governor Cuomo. One one hand, after the Spitzer/Paterson disaster, he has gone a long way towards restoring the credibility of the Governor as an institution. He also forced Gay Marriage through the legislature, which was no small feat. And his approval ratings remain sky-high, which bodes well for Democrats trying to recapture the Senate chamber in next year's elections.
On the other hand, his fiscal and economic policies sometimes leave me wondering what exactly he is trying to accomplish. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of government spending in New York that is wasteful and unjustified. A recent audit found astonishing levels of wasted funds. Please, cut that waste.
And in the same vein, I can't understand what Cuomo is thinking regarding his opposition to renewing the millionaires' tax. Keeping the tax is incredibly popular, so much so that even a Republican Senator supports it. Furthermore, keeping the tax would add $2.8 billion to the state's treasury next year. To put that in perspective, the budget deficit next year is predicted to be $2.4 billion. That means just by keeping the tax and doing nothing else, the state would run a $400 million surplus next year. There are a lot of needs for that money, like putting a vital rail extension on the Tappan Zee Bridge, plans for which have recently been cancelled in an extreme case of shortsightedness.
"Because then it wouldn't put any state, and I'm concerned about this state, at a competitive disadvantage," Cuomo said.
Cuomo says extending the tax only in New York would hurt business and cause the rich to flee the state.
Why is Cuomo speaking in the future tense about the wealthy fleeing New York? The tax already exists.The wealthy have not fled New York. Cuomo, who has always tried to paint himself as a nonpartisan pragmatist is doing exactly what true pragmatists don't do: they don't make up facts to serve political ends. It seems that Cuomo wants to be able to say in a 2016 presidential race that he never raised taxes as Governor. Well, I have a better suggestion for him: having a budget surplus would help more.
Bill Clinton raised taxes but will always have the legacy of a fiscal hawk because he created surpluses. So I'm not even asking Governor Cuomo to be a liberal. Just be Bill Clinton.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo today drew an interesting comparison between his opposition to the millionaires tax and his father's anti-death penalty stance.
At a Red Room news conference, Cuomo said he wouldn't be swayed by voter surveys showing support for the tax on the state's wealthy, noting he supported the tax on the federal level (in a bit of Cuomoian logic, the governor said he, in fact, supported a millionaires tax on New Yorkers, just a federal surcharge being pushed by President Obama).
Impishness aside, Cuomo said his opposition was a principled one, similar to his father Mario's unwillingness to go along with the death penalty, a policy deeply rooted in the elder Cuomo's Catholic faith.
"My father was governor of this state. He was against the death penalty. Everyone in the state wanted the death penalty - everyone. It was near 80 percent. And he was the governor of the state and he said he wasn't going to sign it. Every year - go back and talk to some of the people who know the history - every year we had to scramble and make sure there wasn't an override of the veto.
(snip)
"The point is, we don't elect - the governor isn't a big poll taking machine. And that's what we do, we take a poll and do whatever the poll says and you wouldn't need me ... so the fact that everyone wants it, that doesn't mean all that much. I respect the people, their opinion matters, but I'm not going to go back and forth with the political winds."
The political winds? WTF are you talking about, Gov? The polling on this suggests that sentiment to retain the Millionaire's Tax is getting stronger, but it's not like New Yorkers have simply changed their minds. They've been pretty consistently in favor since before you were elected.
And comparing this to your father's opposition to the death penalty? What the hell? Is your opposition to the wealthiest New Yorkers paying their fair share in a time of fiscal crisis also deeply rooted in your Catholic faith?
Or are you just grasping at straws trying to defend a deeply unpopular giveaway to the very people who drove the economy into the ditch in the first place?
A Prominent Republican is joining a prominent Democrat in predicting that Gov. Cuomo will become President Obama's running mate for vice president next year.
I wonder what Cuomo the Elder has to say in private about his son's "balance the budget on the backs of our kids, the elderly, the poor and the middle class" budget."
Anyone remember this Cuomo?
In fact, Mr. President, this is a nation -- Mr. President you ought to know that this nation is more a "Tale of Two Cities" than it is just a "Shining City on a Hill."
Maybe, maybe, Mr. President, if you visited some more places; maybe if you went to Appalachia where some people still live in sheds; maybe if you went to Lackawanna where thousands of unemployed steel workers wonder why we subsidized foreign steel. Maybe -- Maybe, Mr. President, if you stopped in at a shelter in Chicago and spoke to the homeless there; maybe, Mr. President, if you asked a woman who had been denied the help she needed to feed her children because you said you needed the money for a tax break for a millionaire or for a missile we couldn't afford to use.
Maybe -- Maybe, Mr. President. But I'm afraid not. Because the truth is, ladies and gentlemen, that this is how we were warned it would be. President Reagan told us from the very beginning that he believed in a kind of social Darwinism. Survival of the fittest. "Government can't do everything," we were told, so it should settle for taking care of the strong and hope that economic ambition and charity will do the rest. Make the rich richer, and what falls from the table will be enough for the middle class and those who are trying desperately to work their way into the middle class.
....
We know we can, because we did it for nearly 50 years before 1980. And we can do it again, if we do not forget -- if we do not forget that this entire nation has profited by these progressive principles; that they helped lift up generations to the middle class and higher; that they gave us a chance to work, to go to college, to raise a family, to own a house, to be secure in our old age and, before that, to reach heights that our own parents would not have dared dream of.
That struggle to live with dignity is the real story of the shining city. And it's a story, ladies and gentlemen, that I didn't read in a book, or learn in a classroom. I saw it and lived it, like many of you. I watched a small man with thick calluses on both his hands work 15 and 16 hours a day. I saw him once literally bleed from the bottoms of his feet, a man who came here uneducated, alone, unable to speak the language, who taught me all I needed to know about faith and hard work by the simple eloquence of his example. I learned about our kind of democracy from my father. And I learned about our obligation to each other from him and from my mother. They asked only for a chance to work and to make the world better for their children, and they -- they asked to be protected in those moments when they would not be able to protect themselves. This nation and this nation's government did that for them.
Full text of this eloquent and amazing speech on the flip...
You get what you pay for? It seems David Koch and his wife really love donating large sums of money from a PO Box in Witchita, Kansas to GOP entities in New York. What's a bit more surprising is how much they seem to love Andrew Cuomo. They are so into the Governor that, Julia, wife of David Koch, contributed a (perfectly legal, this is New York State, after all, the wild west of campaign finance) $87,000 to his 2010 campaign. Really. Liz has the deets:
Koch has given $173,500 to the GOP since 2000.
All of Koch's contributions to the party originate from a PO Box in Witchita, Kansas, which is the home base of the family business, Koch Industries. David Koch lives with his wife, Julia, in NYC, but he's still reportedly banking out in the heartland.
Koch has spread his campaign cash around in New York. He and his wife, Julia, contributed $87,000 to Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo as he ramped up his 2010 gubernatorial bid.
That's a lotta dough. What do you think they felt they could get for that kind of cash?
The assault on the working class packaged as "fiscal responsibility" by the likes of Scott Walker has gone viral. Since Wisconsin, this tactic - force hard working Americans to accept the notion of "austerity", while giving corporations and millionaires tax breaks - has reared its ugly head in Ohio, Indiana, and Florida. This week, the virus has found a new host - New York.
Over the weekend, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and GOP Senate leadership agreed on a plan to slash the State Budget by billions of dollars - including hundreds of millions in cuts to public school funding and to State and City universities, millions more in cuts to homeless services and senior centers. In addition, the State will allow the Millionaires' Tax to expire, and will not strengthen laws protecting rent regulation for residents of New York City. All of this is being justified by lawmakers as necessary measures to close the State's deficit. So let's look at the numbers:
Total tax revenue NY will be losing by letting the millionaire's tax expire? $4.6 billion.
Much like in Wisconsin, New Yorkers are being told that it's our responsibility to make sacrifices in these harsh economic times. This budget will force that issue - thousands of teachers could be laid off, tuition hikes loom for students at public universities, medical services for groups that need it the most - like senior citizens, the homeless, and those with HIV/AIDS, could become very scarce. But the wealthiest 3% of New Yorkers are being told, "You deserve a break. Thanks for all that you do!" So in essence, many of the Wall Street execs who played a major part in triggering the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression will be rewarded, while the families hardest hit by this crisis are being punished.
And like in Wisconsin, New Yorkers will not take this sitting down. A coalition called Strong Economy for All is bringing together education groups, labor unions, tenants' rights organizations, homeless advocates, and senior citizens to demand that Cuomo scraps this plan. This Wednesday, thousands of New Yorkers will join the coalition from throughout the state to tell lawmakers in Albany that their job needs to be fighting for good jobs, decent wages, a quality education, and healthcare for all New Yorkers. They've protected Wall Street long enough. Governor - tax the rich. They got us into this mess, they need to do their fair share to get us out of it. Don't put this on the backs of the children, seniors, homeless, tenants, and teachers of New York. We've been shouldering the burden for quite some time.
In New York, as in Wisconsin (and Ohio, and Indiana) the buzz word among the pro-Wall Street side has been "austerity". Austerity for who? New York is one of the wealthiest states in one of the richest countries on the planet. How can millionaires and elected officials talk to us about austerity while keeping a straight face? Corporations like JP Morgan Chase pay only 11% of the State income taxes to which they're obligated. And those of us who make New York run on a daily basis are told we have to accept austerity? No, we will not accept that. We have not tax loopholes, we received no bailouts. Our State electeds need to preach austerity to the Wall Street side, and protect the services and programs on which working families rely for stability.
We're asking all New Yorkers to get their voices heard. We know you want to - roughly 80% of New Yorkers support the millionaire's tax. You deserve better. To sign a petition to Governor Cuomo, and to RSVP to our rally this Wednesday, March 30th, click here (Go to a college in New York State? Click here to find out what student groups are doing on your campus).
UPDATE: Seems the site at the above linked is getting hammered right now, so I've taken the liberty of posting the entire piece. Hope Mr Basta does not mind.
In the give and take of the budget, it's now clear that wealthy New Yorkers are doing all the taking while middle-class and poor New Yorkers are doing all the giving. This budget will make our state's already frightening levels of income inequality even worse.
Also, Liz has some more on what's shaping up for Wednesday at the capitol:
A reader forwarded an alert sent out yesterday about an "Albany occupation" planned for this Wednesday in opposition to what's being billed as Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed budget.
The "peaceful" protest will include New York Communities for Change (formerly ACORN), Right to the City, SUNY student groups and others, according to the e-mail, which continues:
"They expect at least 1,000 to participate in the occupation during the day on Wednesday and at least 500 to stay in the capital (sic) overnight."
"FYI, as long as the legislature is in session, anyone has the right to be in the capital, even to protest inside it (although not in the Senate and Assembly chambers themselves). The organizers have notified the police of their intentions and no arrests are expected."
"The situation will be very fluid, however, and the occupiers on the ground will be the ones who ultimately decide how long to continue the occupation and what course of action to take, although precautions will be taken at all times to avoid anyone being exposed to arrest who doesn't want to be."
"This is a very important action that I think we should support as strongly as possible. Please forward this to any and all activist listservs you are on. As Cuomo is currently preparing to bulldoze his way to an on-time, incredibly anti-working class budget, we need to make sure that our voices are heard. If you'd like to participate, get in touch with the organizers listed in the announcement below. Thanks!"
This is reminiscent of the so-called "week of rage" that occurred during the Wisonsin budget battle, when protestors refused to leave the building and the courts ultimately got involved.
And, by the way, do keep in mind that the Governor and Skelos' crew are axing the extension of the so called Millionaire's Tax, even though a new Siena poll showing that a whopping 71% of New Yorker's favor that extension. That includes the support of 67% of Indys and 54 % of Republicans.
So, Cuomo and Skelos are basically telling New Yorkers that not only do they not care what they think, but that they are going to take out on their kids and the elderly and the poor and working classes.
Which leaves one question. What are we going to do about it, New York?
I voted for Andrew Cuomo last November, I voted for him, I rooted for him, and I did everything I though could reasonably help his campaign. I didn't extensively fundraise for him (although I wish I had) nor did I canvass for him beyond the bare minimum, being occupied with the failed State Senate campaign in my district. But nonetheless, I fully supported him.
And not out of simple party loyalty, or herd behavior--my county went for Carl Paladino (shudder) by an almost two to one margin. Nor did I vote for Cuomo due to the fact that Carl Paladino was an absolute lunatic, even though I know things which would appall you about dear old Carl that are not public information and probably never will be. Nor did I vote for Cuomo because I believe him to be the ideal man, governor, or political candidate. I've been involved in politics long enough to know that there is no such thing for any of the above.
No, I voted for Andrew Cuomo because I firmly believe that he represents the best chance that this state has within the next ten or twenty years of climbing out of the cesspool that we're in of corruption and incompetence.
Gov. Cuomo and state legislative leaders annnounced an agreement on a 2011-12 state budget today that largely tracks Cuomo's proposed budget.
According to Joseph Spector of the Journal News, "The deal is a major victory for Cuomo," who got "a two-year deal to cap the spending growth for schools and Medicaid, the two most expensive items in the budget."
New York has a few dozen tea party groups, with a few thousand activists involved. So it's not a major tea party state, though, give them their due, the tea party types did have some impact on the GOP picking up six Congressional seats last year.
But their favorite statewide candidate, Carl Paladino, lost in a landslide to Andrew Cuomo, who, as governor, has proposed reducing state spending for the first time in 16 years, capping property taxes, laying off 10,000 state workers, and letting the millionaires' tax sunset.
Caputo met with 50 or so statewide tea partiers five weeks ago in Oneonta, and argued that tea partiers should support the obviously conservative parts of Cuomo's budget.
But while Cuomo emphasized "shared sacrifice" in his budget message, he is adamantly opposed to extending New York's millionaire's tax, a modest income tax surcharge on those lucky few who make more than $200,000 a year.
So, under a Democratic governor, most New Yorkers will be making serious sacrifices in tough times, except the rich.
More like this, please. From an emailed press release:
GOVERNOR CUOMO SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER
Removes Concrete Barriers on State Street; Reopens Hall of Governors on 2nd Floor to Give Public Greater Access to Their Government
ALBANY, NY (01/01/2011)(readMedia)-- Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed an Executive Order, the first of his administration, removing physical barriers erected in and around the New York State Capitol in order to give the public greater access to their government. As a result of the Executive Order, a series of concrete barriers stretching the length of the Capitol along State Street will be immediately removed
The order also reopens the Hall of Governors on the second floor of the Capitol to the public. The Hall, where many of the executive chamber offices are located, has been closed to the public since 1995.
"This is more than just a symbolic gesture, this literally reopens areas of the Capitol building that have been closed to the public for years," Governor Cuomo said. "In order to restore faith and trust in government, we have to tear down barriers that have excluded people from the governing process. Today we take the first step in that effort."
Andrew Cuomo has allied himself with the rest of the fraidy cat New Yorker politicians who think that Khalid Sheik Mohammed is so scary and powerful that he can't be tried in New York City. Giving KSM a fair trial in the city he attacked would send a message of strength. Instead, we send a message of weakness and fear. And I hope Cuomo doesn't think this is protecting New York City, because it does just the opposite. It sends yet another message that our greatest fear is another attack on New York, so it's a place where an attack meant to terrorize would be extremely effective.
I didn't get to watch the debate, since it was only on YNN which Dish Network doesn't get. But I listened to some of it online, and read several summaries, all of which pretty much reinforce my first impression: that it consisted of Andrew Cuomo standing on a stage for an hour with six total lunatics.
I know that Paladino's strategy for this debate was to avoid letting himself talk, which seems to be his worst enemy, while hopefully getting the left wing of the party and anyone stuck on identity politics to attach to another candidate. Unfortunately for him, he blended right into the crowd. A crowd made of kooks.
Cuomo is there to praise Foley, but it's what he has to say about who those people outside are and what they want that really struck me.
And forget the labels. Forget the labels. Look at what they are saying and look at what they would do to this state. Look at what they believe in! Look at their platform. Listen to them when they tell you what they want to do.
I think Cuomo is exactly right. Listen to them when they tell you what they want to do. It's not like they are being coy or secretive. It's right out in the open, especially with a certified nut like Paladino at the top of the ticket.
Women's tight to choose? Gone. Not even in the case of rape or incest. Poor people shipped to reconditioned prisons to be taught hygiene. Brown folks? Not welcome. Marriage equality? Not chance.
That's what Carl Paladino wants. That's what Lee Zeldin wants. That's what proto-teabagger Greg Ball wants. That's what that David DiPietro wants. That's what Jim Russell wants
Listen to these people when they tell you what they want to do.
The poll, which I believe is somewhat flawed but still very useful, shows Andrew Cuomo up by 24 on Carl Paladino. While I believe that number is high (I think his lead is actually closer to 16-20), the crosstabs paint a beautiful picture: This race is over.
First, let me explain why I think the top-line number on the poll is flawed - Siena is predicting just 31% of the electorate to be Republicans (overall ~31-47-22). I think the number will be significantly higher with a more motivated base. However, even when the numbers are rejiggered to predict what would happen if Republicans were 40% of the electorate (40-40-20), Cuomo still leads by 16 points.
The most telling statistic is this: 10% of Democrats are planning to vote for Paladino, but 25% of Republicans are planning to vote for Cuomo. That means that the Republicans need to be 62% of the voters on election day for Paladino to win (weighting the crosstabs 62-29-9 produces a 8/100ths of a point lead for Paladino). Nate Silver recently explained that a lead of 9 points for a governor this close to election day has only been overcome once in the last 12 years, and a lead of 12 points or more has not been overcome in that timeframe. There is no reason to believe that this year will be any different.
On the heels of his clergy group's endorsement of GOP AG candidate Dan Donovan, "true Democrat" Ruben Diaz Sr. is open to endorsing Carl Palin-dino for governor because Cuomo has so far declined to meet with Diaz's group of anti-gay bigots:
"(Cuomo) doesn't want to because he believes the gay community would get angry and he doesn't want to get the gay community angry," Diaz Sr. said.
"Now Paladino came and he's coming back. Soon. Soon. And we believe that anyone that wants to be governor should be governor for everybody - for everybody - gay, straight, Chrisitan, Muslim, Jews, Hebrews."
Yeah, it's all a conspiracy! But maybe Diaz has a point- why exactly would Cuomo want to give legitimacy to a bigoted State Senator who didn't even possess the organizational muscle to help his best "amigo" in the Senate win re-election in the neighboring Senate district? That is certainly not worth alienating the Gay Community for.
But then again with Diaz on board, Palin-Dino just might pull out the swing district of the Bronx.
Also check out this awesome video F-U to Diaz from Rosie Perez where she calls out Diaz for his bigotry in the name of New York's latinos:
Today, Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino and his campaign manager Mike Caputo almost came to blows with Fred Dicker, the dean of the Capitol press corps.
Dicker has covered Albany for more than 30 years, is the Murdoch NY Post bureau chief in Albany, and also has a daily one-hour talk show on WGDJ-AM and does analysis on WRGB, Channel 6.
He's relatively conservative, for New York, but he has expressed concern with Paladino's rhetoric, like calling former Republican Gov. George Pataki "a degenerate idiot" and comparing Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to the Antichrist.
