Governor Cuomo delivered his 2014 State of the State message
to the New York State Legislature and invited elected officials. As a former Libertarian Party of New York
www.ny.lp.org State Chair, I followed this with
great interest and read the message completely. See here for a transcript
https://www.governor.ny.gov/press/01092013sostranscript. The Governor handed out a “free book” http://webiva-downton.s3.amazonaws.com/487/f3/9/4041/2014-SOS-Book.pdf.
Not surprisingly, as a Libertarian I read it with dismay but there were some
good things.
For example on criminal justice, Cuomo said:
We need to insure fairness in the justice system. The
problem is mistaken eyewitness identifications contribute to approximately 75%
of the wrongful convictions overturned by DNA evidence and false confessions
contributed to approximately 25% of wrongful convictions overturned by DNA.
Remember, this is not a numbers game for a prosecutor. It's not the more
convictions the better. A wrongful conviction protects no one, and you are
still innocent until proven guilty in this system. And let's make sure the
system remembers that and the system provides that. We propose innocence
protections in the justice system. We propose requiring blind administering of
eyewitness photo IDs and videotaped confessions for suspects in violent crimes
and related offenses and sex offenses. This will give us more certainty that
the convictions we obtain are actually fair and justified.
I
think I would agree completely with that.
On
the other hand, Cuomo tooted his own horn Governor Al Smith liked to say
‘let’s look at the record.’ Well let’s look at the record. Gone is
the obstructionist state bureaucratic culture, replaced with a new
entrepreneurial government. Gone is the tax capital mentality, replaced
with a property tax cap, tier VI, and the lowest middle class tax rate in 58
years. Gone is the anti-business mentality, replaced with regional
collaboratives and a new public-private sector partnership that is working
extraordinarily well. Gone is the political gridlock, replaced with a
government that puts politics aside, remembers why they’re here, puts the
people first, and makes the government work for the people of the state once
again. The speech is an early salvo
in Cuomo’s reelection campaign.
Cuomo
did not go into detail of his own tax plan as expressed in the book. There is less than meets the eye unfortunately. The property tax relief is contingent on the
local municipalities consolidating services and other ideas which may well be
good but are not guaranteed to happen.
There is no property tax relief for NYC homeowners. About a third of New York City residents own
their home or apartment.
Cuomo
called for elimination of a tax on upstate manufacturers, defined as outside
the MTA region. As a downstate
manufacturer, I ask what about us? What
are we, chopped liver?
On guns, Cuomo did not refer by name to his own legislation,
the fraudulently named NY SAFE Act. This
legislation rushed without justification was so ineptly written that even
supporters of gun control wanted clarification so as not to prevent film and
television crews from taking pictures of firearms. But Emperor Andrew I did not want anything to
detract from his image of competence.
Cuomo
said about guns: In the area of public safety - gun violence - has been on a
rampage as we know firsthand and we know painfully. We must stop the madness,
my friends. And in one word it is just enough. It has been enough. We need a
gun policy in this state that is reasonable, that is balanced, that is
measured. We respect hunters and sportsmen. This is not taking away people's
guns. I own a gun. I own a Remington shotgun. I've hunted, I've shot. That's
not what this is about. It is about ending the unnecessary risk of high-capacity
assault rifles. That's what this is about. We have a seven point agenda.
Number 1: Enact the toughest assault weapon ban in
the nation period.
Number 2: Close the private sale loophole by requiring
federal background checks.umber 3: Ban high-capacity magazines.
Number 4: Enact tougher penalties for illegal gun
use, guns on school grounds and violent gangs.
Number 5: Keep guns from people who are mentally
ill.
Number 6: Ban direct internet sales of ammunition
in New York.
Number 7: Create a State NICS check on all
ammunition purchases.
New York State led the way on guns once before. It was
Sullivan's Law of 1911, which was the first in the nation gun control law - a
model law that required a permit for possession of a handgun. New York was the
first; it's still on the books. New York led the way then, let's pass safe and
fair legislation and lead the way once again in saving lives.
Take
note that he made the ritual incantation about hunters and sportsmen to show
that he isn’t anti-gun. Cuomo says
nothing about self-defense. Well he
shouldn’t with a security detail.
Cuomo
isn’t correct about the Sullivan Law. It
wasn’t the first gun control law. The
segregationist South enacted gun controls to disarm the black population.
The
Sullivan Law grants arbitrary authority to local police who act arbitrarily in
deciding on handgun permits. I favor
repeal not just of the NY Safe Act but of the Sullivan Law. Failing that repeal, New York should become a
“shall issue” state. That is, if you are
not legally barred from having a weapon, then a permit must be issued. If they really want to cut gun violence, end
the drug war.
When it comes to government reform, we all believe in
government, otherwise we wouldn't be in this room today. But for government to
be effective, we must be trusted and the more we're trusted the more effective
we are because it's all about the relationship that we have with the citizens
of this state.
Cuomo
believes the problem with lack of trust in government has to do with campaigns.
We must enact campaign finance reform because people
believe that campaigns are financed by someone else at exorbitant rates. New
York currently has the highest contribution limits among all states, third
lowest rate of participation. I want to propose the Disclose New York plan,
which is very simple. It's the nation's most aggressive disclosure law period.
What it says is disclose all political and lobbying contributions within 48
hours electronically period. Right now – Right now the disclosure law says you
can disclose sometimes every six months, sometimes a year, sometimes never. We
would apply this to all political and lobbying organizations - PACs, 501(c)(3),
501(c)(4)s that do lobbying, political committees, political party. Any
contribution within 48 hours is disclosed over $500. There is nothing like it
in the country. Implement a public finance system based on New York City. It
works well in New York City, it will work well in New York State. We need to
lower the contribution limits for all offices, political parties, housekeeping
accounts because the limits are just too high.
I
would probably support the Disclose New York plan. I do not see any connection between the
contribution limits and participation.
Maybe it is the fact that the Republicans and Democrats are just two
wings of the party of legalized theft. Why
choose between either criminal gang?
Cuomo
proposed both lower contribution limits and a public finance system like that
of New York City. By public of course he
means taxpayers pay for election campaigns.
As a Libertarian, I regard that as unjust. We compel people to fund the campaigns of
people they are either not interested in or oppose. Why do we have the First Amendment’s ban on
the establishment of religion? To prevent such funding of those with whom one disagrees.
At
the risk of being cynical, why might the incumbent governor and son of a former
governor benefit from these so-called campaign reforms? Lower contribution limits make it harder to
defeat incumbents. Taxpayer finance means
his union allies and business cronies can use their money in other ways. There is a real benefit to those with an organization
already (shout-out to Working Families Party) or name recognition from his
plan.
Cuomo said well “Economic development is the engine that drives the state.”
On one hand he speaks of cutting taxes and regulation but on the other
he promotes corporate welfare with a green face in the detailed book.
He did not
address medical marijuana in his speech, only in the book. As with the property tax relief, it is more
about the appearance of change then the reality. Up to 20 unnamed hospitals will administer a
very restrictive program, instead of the dispensaries as in California and
elsewhere. When they are selected, I
wonder which Cuomo cronies will be on their boards and which unions will be
part of their control apparatus.I say
legalize marijuana nationwide now.
In his
education remarks Cuomo didn’t mention the Common Core standards fiasco. I would not implement Common Core. I would
not implement Common Core. To opponents
of Common Core, I say what did you expect when government is involved in
education provision, funding and regulation?
Cuomo
concludes this campaign kickoff.
So my
friends, what is the state of New York State? The state of New York State
is that New York State is rising. New York State is rising because it is
more unified than ever before. New York State is rising to build back
better and stronger than ever before. New York State is rising to build a
smarter, stronger state than we’ve ever had before. New York State is
rising with a passion and a commitment to make this state better than it’s ever
been with a brighter future than it’s ever had for your family and for my
family. And New York is rising with us together, as one committed to that
vision and making it a reality this year. Thank you and God bless you.
I wish I
had royalties for coining the word “rising.”
Cuomoism is the little blue pill of New York in its Emperor’s
imagination.
As for the
Republicans, they fell over themselves to support the tax plan. They make occasional noises about cutting
spending but cannot be regarded as serious about it as they are just as committed
to corporate welfare as the Democrats.
Not only is the Empire State Development Corporation a vehicle for
corporate welfare but it is a major engine for eminent domain abuse. The New York Times noted that it houses many
Cuomo loyalists. I call for abolition of
the Empire State Development Corporation.
It is enough to make me laugh, cry and gag.
I say, let New York rise.
Let New Yorkers make their own decisions without the interference of
Washington, Albany, or City Hall. Free
New Yorkers from the Empire State.
--Richard Cooper
Labels: Common Core, corporate welfare, eminent domain, Governor Cuomo, gun control, medical marijuana, New York Libertarian, NY SAFE, property tax relief, Richard Cooper
