Cuomo Expels Those Who Have No Place In New York By Richard Cooper

Cuomo Expels Those Who Have No Place In New York

New York locations.  April 1, 2015

After his re-election, Governor Cuomo has taken action against those he deemed extremists.  In January 2014, he told Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom that “extreme conservatives” should leave New York.

In compliance with his orders and the Democrat-controlled legislature elected in November 2014 Tea Party “extreme conservatives” are fleeing to the South and West.  A group of Long Islanders, waiting to cross the Verrazano Narrows bridge began singing “Massapequa, Massapequa” to the tune of “Anatevka, Anatevka” from Fiddler On The Roof. 

For more than a century the Adirondack Park has been declared “forever wild.”   Governor Cuomo cites as a benefit of the expulsion of the extreme conservatives that with the depopulation of upstate New York, the Adirondack Park will now be enlarged to include Columbia, Delaware, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, Washington, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Oswego, Otsego, Onondaga, Tioga, Chemung, Livingston, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Yates, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chatutauqua, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming, Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence counties.  In other words, most of the upstate counties beyond the MTA region.

Libertarians went north and east to New Hampshire to join the Free State project.

Those to the left of the Governor such as the Occupy movement were given the boot as well, heading to the People’s Republics of Vermont and Massachusetts. 

Both pro-frackers and anti-frackers were declared extremists by the new legislative committees on Extremist Activities.  Speaker Silver said “They should wait until the Governor decides to know how they should protest in his support.”

Moses said to Pharaoh, “Let my people go.”  Pharaoh Cuomo said “Let the extremists go where they belong.” 

Before Cuomo's Renter Tax Credit There Was...

In his 2014 State of the State message to the legislature, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed property tax cuts for homeowners.  Not to leave them anyone out, he also proposed an income tax credit for renters as landlords pass property taxes along to their tenants.

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. 

Back in 1976, the US Senate killed a proposal by former New York US Senator James L. Buckley (Republican and Conservative) that would have allowed renters to deduct from their federal income tax a portion of their rent which goes to cover taxes.  See http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1291&dat=19760924&id=CA1UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tYwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5449,3107110


I remembered this proposal because in 1976 I was Chair of Columbia Youth For Jim Buckley.  Amongst other things I did at headquarters was stuffing press kits.  One of the pieces was on the renters tax proposal.


After his defeat by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Buckley was an Undersecretary of State and at Radio Free Europe during the Reagan Administration.  President Reagan appointed him to the Federal court from which he has retired.   He was one of the nicest political figures I have encountered over the years.

Cuomo's Convention Center Calendar Caper

By Richard Cooper

The Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo recently exercised his imperial prerogative to change the calendar of the state-owned Jacob Javits Convention Center.   Newsday's Dan Janison reports that Cuomo in Albany changed the date of the annual New York boat show to January.  http://www.newsday.com/columnists/dan-janison/javits-center-nyc-s-boat-show-make-political-waves-1.6119695   Considered a more desirable by the boat selling industry the change upset other trade shows that were bumped.

Quite aside from the question of why our would-be emperor in Albany isbusying himself with event calendars, let us ask the question never asked.  Why should the state government or municipal governments be in the convention center business?  If it is desirable, let it be run by private enterprise.

This Libertarian says "Separate convention centers and state.  Sell the Javits Center."

Reject Andrew Cuomo's So-Called Public Campaign Finance Scheme

Governor Cuomo has used the pretext of the recent scandals in the New York State Legislature for what is misleadingly called public campaign finance reform.  What that really means is taxpayer financing of election campaigns.  Such taxpayer-financed schemes are unjust violations of the liberties of New Yorkers.    New Yorkers will be conscripted to finance the election campaigns of those they oppose.  Other New Yorkers will be conscripted to finance campaigns for elections that do not interest them. 

Pretend for a moment that there was no First Amendment to the US Constitution.   Why would such a provision concerning the establishment of religion be desirable?   Because it is wrong to compel people to support the views they do not share. 

Is it right for Republicans to pay for Democrats, Republicans and Democrats to pay for Greens and Libertarians or vice versa?  As a Libertarian, I say not.  We and the likes of Cuomo or his GOP opponents  have no right to take from others against their will to finance our campaigns.  This is typical Cuomo arrogance.

Would taxpayer financing of election campaigns have prevented the recent scandals involving New York State legislators?   Not at all.  In fact, a perceptive columnist suggested that the scheme of State Senator Malcolm Smith, a Democrat who even served as the Democrat leader of the State Senate, to seek the Republican nomination for Mayor of New York City might have been motivated by the carrot of NYC's generous "public" campaign finance scheme.   The City scheme pays $6 in taxpayer dollars for each dollar the campaign raised privately.

If you want more competition, eliminate the petition system and have a modest filing fee to qualify candidates for the ballot.

In a sense, we already have taxpayer financing of election campaigns in New York.  We call it the New York state budget which largely consists of vote buying of individual voters or groups of voters.

How the public officials raise their funds does not restrict their ability to hand out favors, legal or not, whether of public funds or legislative or execution acts.  Thus the root of corruption remains. 
It is the state's power to conduct what Frederic Bastiat called legalized plunder. 

Henry David Thoreau wrote in Walden "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."   The Libertarian Party of New York www.ny.lp.org is striking at the root.  Join us.  Contact your legislator to reject Cuomo's campaign finance scheme.

About the author: Richard Cooper is an international trade executive with a manufacturing firm on Long Island, New York, USA. He is active in the Libertarian Party www.lp.org on eminent domain and other issues.  He was chair of the Libertarian Party of New York http://www.ny.lp.org.