A coup in Albany

A coup in Albany
By Dan Margolis
Originally published in the People's Weekly World

The mess in the New York State Senate would make for a relatively enjoyable reality show—if the living standards of so many New Yorkers weren’t put at stake.

The actions of Sens. Pedro Espada, D-Bronx, and Hiram Monseratte, D-Queens, are as disgusting as their explanations are ridiculous. After New Yorkers voted overwhelmingly for a Democratic Senate, these two ethically challenged individuals have taken the state hostage at a time when there is essential work to be done.

Espada and Monseratte say that they acted because the Democratic caucus was too opaque. Both say they wanted to bring openness and more democracy to Albany. A noble concept, but the idea that this is what they’re doing would be laughable if it weren’t so infuriating. Or maybe infuriating if it weren’t so laughable; it’s hard to say.

Are we really supposed to believe this? That a Republican controlled Senate will be somehow more open? The Republicans held power for 30 years, and all they did was attack working people. The problems with Malcolm Smith’s Democratic caucus in the Senate are nothing compared with those of the Republicans. The recent tax increases on the rich would have been impossible had the Democrats not won control last fall.

What would the Democrats’ loss of the Senate mean?

Firstly, it would be a victory for the billionaires, specifically Tom Golisano, who masterminded the coup. Golisano is, of course, the businessman who campaigned against the Fair Share tax increases and then moved his legal residence to Florida after it was passed. Also, it would mean a victory for the Republicans, the party of racism, inequality and union-busting.

All of the pro-people bills currently in the State Senate could be killed.

Of particular importance are two bills on tenants’ rights: One would repeal the “Urstadt Law,” which took control of rent-control regulations away from New York City’s council and made them the domain of Albany. The other bill would mandate that any buildings leaving the Mitchell-Lama or Section 8 programs would have to be placed under rent regulations.

The loss would mean, then, a huge victory for the landlords of New York, and a loss for tenants.

In fact, some are speculating that the coup was, at least in part, pushed and coordinated by big landlords who do not want to see these bills passed. It’s likely that Espada receives a lot of money from landlords—but no one knows that for sure, because he’s never filed the legally required paperwork on campaign contributions.

It looks like Espada was bought by the landlords and sold to the Republican Party.

Diane Savino, D-Staten Island, has introduced a bill that would weaken the state’s anti-union Taylor Law, which bans public employees from striking. This bill would have been hard to pass with a 32-30 Democratic majority—but with the Republicans in charge? Forget it.

The loss would mean ending the possibility of actually bringing New York State into compliance with international labor law, under which workers are supposed to have the right to strike.

There are other bills as well, but the point is clear: Republican control is bad for working people.

Some are saying that this debacle is the result of animosities between the African American and Latino communities, and that the coup d’état will somehow help empower Latinos. This nonsense should be rejected outright. It is true that Latinos in New York’s leadership have been under-represented, and any democratic-minded person must be in favor of the empowerment of the growing and diversifying Hispanic community.

The idea that Latino advancement could or should come at the expense of the African American community is preposterous: Unity between African Americans, Latinos, and the working class is essential to the advancement of all three groups, none of which are mutually exclusive, of course.

But the idea that ceding control to the Republicans will help Latinos? Please. Let’s come back to the real world. The above mentioned bills would help to empower both the African American and Latino communities, as well as working-class white people. How is killing them a benefit to anyone who has to work for a living?

In any case, most people aren’t buying it: Editorials in much of the New York City Spanish-language press have condemned the right wing power grab, and rallies against Espada and Monseratte have been united. It seems pretty clear that there are others, behind the scenes, who would like to sow division between the two communities.

For example, one thing Mayor Bloomberg, the “independent” mayor of New York City, needs to win the 2009 municipal elections is a major split in the Latino and African American communities. Bloomberg has been specifically targeting people with Latino names to receive mailings addressed to them. There have been no major breaks among Latinos for Bloomberg.

The idea that either Espada or Monseratte is that altruistic is hard to believe. Espada has been fined thousands of dollars refusing to show from where his donations come. On top of that, though he “represents” the Bronx, he really lives in suburban Westchester County.

And Monseratte? He’s been indicted for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend with a glass bottle.

These are the great reformers?

We still don’t know how things are going to pan out. As of this writing, Monseratte is in discussions with the Democratic caucus, and seems to be on the verge—possibly—of returning to the fold. But even then, the house would be divided 31-31, and since we have no Lieutenant Governor to break a tie, that’s a bad situation. The Republicans want to see Espada as president of the chamber. And they are arguing, quite ridulously, that if Monseratte goes back and the chambers are evenly split, Espada should have two votes to break a tie: one as a state senator, and one as the chamber’s president. This, in the words of one lawmaker, is sending the state “lurching towards a constitutional crisis.”

Both Espada and Monseratte should end their betrayal of working New Yorkers and come back into the Democratic fold so that the business of working people can get done.

Albany budget fight's demand: Get the rich to pay!

By Phil Benjamin

Over 2,000 public sector workers/unions and leaders of community based organizations, who are facing massive budget cuts, gathered on the steps of the New York State Capitol to demand fairness in the budget. Their slogans were lead by, "One New York: Fighting for Fairness."

They gathered as the Governor and State legislature was gathering to debate the deficits the state would be facing.

Lead by the Hunger Action Network the assembly activists showed a level of rage and fear that has not been seen in Albany for many years.

Most speakers told how budget cuts were severely hurting those people who are already in great distress. "Enough is enough" was their cry.

One chant that was very popular was, "We Didn't Cause It; We Shouldn't Pay for It."

Bob Master, a leader of the Working Families Party, and Barbara Bowen, President of the Professional Staff Congress [representing City University of New York faculty and staff] both pointed their demands at the wealthy of the State. "They should pay their fair share before those who are in great risk pay anything was a theme." Any sources of revenue, "must start at the top."

Bowen said there is a "Revenue Problem, not a budget problem." She said that the tax breaks given the wealthy over the past years would have more than paid for the current budget deficit. That is where the governor and legislatures should look for money, with those wealthy New Yorkers.

The rally took place in a driving snowstorm, but the weather did not diminish the militancy of the labor and community activists. They seem to ready for upcoming struggles.

The Special Session was adjourned before it was even officially started. Efforts at a deal over the weekend fell through. This set up today's events.

Some demonstrators said that it seemed that this special session and attention to the deficits were being presented at this time to coincide with the US Congress's upcoming special session where a new economic stimulus package will probably be enacted.

One thing is for sure is that the upcoming days, weeks and months will be filled with major rallies and demonstrations.

Teachers Union

Richard Iannuzzi, head of the New York State United Teachers, the 600,000 member union which represents all teachers in NY State, public school to college level and also staff members, called for a progressive tax program to deal with the deficits.

Phil Smith, president of the United University Professions, which represents faculty and staff at the State University of New York sounded the same theme.

Public Employees Federation [PEF] representatives angrily call on New York State to stop outsourcing their work. He said it costs the state millions of dollars. He said that work must be done by PEF members for far less cost to the State.

Other unions at the rally were SEIU 32 BJ and SEIU Local 1199 with their partner, their employer, the Greater New York Hospital Association.

Next Session in 2009

In 2009, the next time the Governor meets with the Assembly and Senate of NY State, all three will be the hands of the Democratic Party. This will be the first time in over 70 years that Democrats will have that level of political power. This is uncharted ground that should make the next session very interesting.

Across the Country

Across the country scenes like the one in Albany are being repeated. For example, in California, where the budget deficits are in the billions, their state capitol in Sacramento has seen many demonstrations. Readers are encouraged to send in their state capitol experiences.

Check out www.fightthecuts.org for more information about the struggle against the cuts in New York State.

Reprinted from Political Affairs Editor's Blog

Upset could shift Empire State politics

By Dan Margolis

QUEENS, N.Y. — A major shift in the politics of New York state may be under way, and a local state senate race here may play a big part.

The race, in New York’s 15th State Senatorial district here, could help decide the fate of the state’s Legislature post-Nov. 4. The diverse district, long a Republican stronghold, could flip Democratic and in so doing, if the Democrats maintain their current seats and flip one other district in the state, would help elect the first Democrat-controlled State Senate in decades.

That, many say, would be a huge victory for the labor movement, tenants’ organizations and women and a defeat for big developers and the Republican right.

In this hot race, New York City Council member Joseph Addabbo is challenging Republican State Sen. Serphin Maltese, who has held the district’s seat for 20 years. Maltese has been a conservative icon for years, and was a founding member of New York’s far-right-wing Conservative Party.

A wide array of organizations have been involved in Addabbo’s campaign, including labor, women’s rights organizations and the Working Families Party, a statewide political party founded by unions and community organizations. The WFP has become influential in the state’s political scene, and is credited with providing the margin of victory for a number of progressive Democrats.

Working Families Party spokesperson Dan Levitan said Maltese “has helped block basic, fundamental things like raising the minimum wage or establishing a paid family leave program — simple, common sense things that most normal people favor but the Republicans in Albany have been able to block.”

“He is the most pro-landlord member of the state senate,” said Michael McKee, treasurer of the tenants’ rights organization TenantPAC. Maltese has not attended any meetings with organized tenants in at least 15 years, though he routinely meets with local property owners’ associations, McKee noted.

Addabbo’s victory is “entirely probably, but it's not guaranteed by any means,” McKee warned. Victory will likely be determined by who has the best get-out-the-vote operation on Election Day, he said.

To help bring in an Addabbo victory, Levitan said, the Working Families Party is bringing its experienced field operations into the race. “There are tons of volunteers; we’re knocking on tens of thousands of doors,” he said.

Some in the labor movement have argued that it is good for labor to have a divided Legislature because it means Republicans and Democrats have to fight for labor’s support, and therefore will pursue a pro-labor agenda.

“We disagree,” Levitan said. “We think that there are some big issues that need solving in New York, and the Republicans have clearly expressed their desire not to deal with them.”

Recently, some unions that used to support the divided-Legislature concept, like 1199SEIU Healthcare Workers East, an electoral powerhouse, have moved away from this idea, and although it still accepted by some unionists, it seems to be on its way out.

There are a number of other races across New York state where a Democrat may win a Republican seat, including such diverse places as Western New York and Westchester County.

Progressive activists across the board agree that a Democratic victory will be just a start. Levitan said, “There’s still going to be work to do. In fact, we’ll have to work just as hard.”

But at least, he said, “one major obstacle will be gone.”

Reprinted from the People's Weekly World

Students Protest Proposed Higher Ed Cuts in Albany

Governor David Paterson, faced with an even larger deficit than expected in 2009, seems determined to solve New York State's economic problems by cutting benefits, services, government jobs, and yes, higher education.

The Gov has called for an emergency session of the State Legislature beginning Tuesday, August 19 and has proposed $1 billion in new cuts for this year purportedly to stave off deeper cuts next year. Of course, you can't cut yourself out of the crisis. Judicious use of new taxes on the rich and the big corporations can address the immediate budget problems and help put money back into the pockets of working people, which is the only way to really help the economy in the long-run.

Unfortunately, Paterson is also proposing a cap on taxes along with the cuts. By rejecting the proposal by some Albany Democrats for a new 1 percent tax on millionaires, Paterson leaves little room to do anything more than cut.

One of the biggest proposed cuts is to higher education spending in the state. Already in the budget adopted in April, the State University of New York (SUNY) had a whopping $150 million in cuts, and now the Governor's proposal would additionally cut $50 million from TAP (Tuition Assistance Program), $51 million from the City University of New York (CUNY), and 6% across the board from all "opportunities programs." The proposal even put on the chopping block the new Veteran's Tuition Assistance Program, which stand to lose 50 percent of its budget.

But students aren't having it. The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), the Student Assembly of the State University of New York, and University Student Senate of the City University of New York have come together to call on the State Legislators to reject the Governor's cuts.

In a letter to the leadership of the State Assembly and the State Senate, they stated argued,

"Students understand the gravity of the state’s economic situation, but we submit that the benefits of affordable, accessible, high-quality public higher education far outweigh the costs. Higher education’s power as an economic engine and its potential for workforce development and innovation has been well documented, and represent the state’s best chance to pull quickly out of this economic nosedive."

The student groups point out the obvious: that cuts to higher education disproportionately impact low-income and working class youth and their families. At a time when gas, grocery, transportation and housing prices are digging deep, cutting tuition assistance programs and financial aid doesn't spread the pain, it concentrates it on this already hardest hit.

"Some students who need TAP to pay for school could end up deeper in debt or unable to pay for school at all," said Cheryl Lynch, NYPIRG's Chairperson, and Stony Brook University student in a press release. "Just as bad, students enrolled in opportunity programs could find the support structures they've come to depend on severely weakened."

Today, a press conference was held with New York City Council Member Charles Barron, the lone member of that body to vote against the recent City budget that included many cuts to human services. Students plan to lobby their representatives in Albany beginning Monday. A call from you wouldn't hurt either.

For more on the nationwide crisis of State Budgets, check out the article, "Got Money?" By Marilyn Bechtel.

Look for a full article on proposed education cuts in next week's People's Weekly World.

Solution to Budget Crisis Lies in Taxes Not Cuts

Governor William Patterson has called for a special session of the State Legislature to address the State's growing fiscal crisis . Unfortunately, his solution is to make one of the worst budgets ever even worse for working people by cutting deeper.

Patterson has proposed 7% across the board cuts in all programs (there goes the "restored" education budget.) and a state-wide hiring freeze. Sadly, he has simultaneously downplayed taxing the rich.

According to the New York Sun, Nobel Prize-winning economist and Patterson economic advisor Joseph Stiglitz, recommended a different solution to the gov:

"New York, like most states, is now facing an unenviable choice: either taxes have to be raised, or expenditures cut," Mr. Stiglitz wrote. "When faced with such an unpleasant choice, economic theory and evidence gives a clear and unambiguous answer: it is economically preferable to raise taxes on those with high incomes than to cut state expenditures,"

wrote Stiglitz.

Back during the budget debate, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver championed a 1% tax surcharge on millionaires which would have filled much of the budget gap. Recently departed Senate Leader Joe Bruno wouldn't let the measure come out of committee. The budget compromise included no new taxes on the mega wealthy or big corporations.

A while back the New York Times reported that many millionaires have no problem paying their fair share, especially during a recession:

“I’m happy to do it,” said Arlyn Gardner, who did not hesitate to declare herself wholly in favor of a plan to raise income taxes on New Yorkers who earn more than $1 million a year. (That would include Ms. Gardner, a prominent philanthropist who splits her time between two homes, one on Fifth Avenue and one in Rye, N.Y.)

“I read about it, and I thought, ‘A lot of people won’t agree with this.’ But I say, ‘Why not?’ We pay taxes to help those who need it.”

Donald Trump is one who does not agree with the idea. “Foolish,” as he put it in a recent telephone interview. “I think it’s a great idea — if you are looking to force rich people to move to states like Florida,” said Mr. Trump, dismissing the notion that the wealthy should be expected to shoulder the burden when times get tough.

“In times of financial distress, the rich get hurt also,” Mr. Trump added.

Poor Donald. The rich cry too, apparently.

Fact is, the debate about how to address the State's fiscal crisis and the general economic crisis in the country has been topsy-turvy. Thirty years of market extremist ideology and right wing rule has made "tax" a dirty word and narrowed the range of solutions in Washington, Albany and City Hall.

As Stiglitz points out, cutting social services is much worse for the economy than raising taxes. Government layoffs, and reductions in benefits and services that lead to less cash in the pockets of low-income and other working people all adds up to slowing the economy.

The argument that increasing taxes on the rich and the big corporations will slow the economy just don't hold up. Taxes on the rich are low. profits are up and wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few. A limited tax will not drive the jet-set from their Park Avenue suites to their Summer homes on the Cape.

Remember, the way we got out of the Great Depression wasn't by trimming our way out of the crisis. The government spent its way out of the crisis. Putting people to work on government public works and public services jobs means cash in pockets of people that actually spend it. This is the way to get the economy going. It was rampant unproductive and highly speculative investment in energy, housing and financial markets which caused this crisis. The "market" on its own, won't get us out.

The main measure of the budget's success should be its impact on the working people of our state.

Let's put pressure on our State Legislators to put the millionaire's tax back on the table and to say no to any additional cuts. Then come November, let's ensure that a new President and a new Congress are motivated to put millions of Americans back to work rebuilding this country for the Green Millenium.