It’s time for the
people of New York City to take a hard look at whether real issues and common
sense concepts are being ignored in favor of boutique causes that appeal only
to politicians, pressure groups, and militant activists.
Genuine challenges such as high unemployment, excessive
taxation, the harassment of small business owners, a crumbling transportation
infrastructure, rising crime, failing schools, and an unresponsive municipal
government take a back seat to ridiculously trivial concerns such as bike
lanes, big sodas, and assorted other matters that have little impact or meaning
to the vast majority of residents.
Here are the reforms that should be undertaken to get NYC
back on track:
1. Stop
the endless cycle of ever-increasing taxes, fees, and fines that are driving
families and small businesses out of the city. It’s become painfully obvious
that no matter how much revenue City Hall collects, it will never be
enough. Giving more cash to our politicians is like giving more booze to
an alcoholic.
2. Adopt budgetary common sense. Fully fund our vital
municipal services such as police, fire, sanitation, ems and transportation
before a penny is spent on any other matter. The annual mayoral threat to
close down firehouses and reduce the size of law enforcement personnel is
disgraceful. As far as all other expenses go, let’s make sure they actually are
for the benefit of the people, and not just to reward campaign contributors to
politicians.
3. Look at transportation needs realistically. The solution
to overcrowded roads, subways and buses isn’t higher fares, new tolls, or
draconian prohibitions against private vehicles. Throughout the
rest of America, most freight moves by rail. NYC has less rail freight
capability now than it did seventy years ago. It’s time to finally build
that long-awaited cross-harbor rail freight line to take trucks off our
bridges, tunnels, and highways. Let’s expand the use of express buses from the
boroughs, and have that service managed by someone other than the inept MTA.
If the Port Authority can’t develop new trans-Hudson commuter lines, than
petition the governor to pull New York State out of that increasingly worthless
agency. Its’ administration of LaGuardia Airport is an utter disgrace,
and ditching the overpaid bureaucrats at the P.A. is long overdue. And, for heaven’s
sake, tear up those ridiculous, “street furniture” lane closures in Manhattan
that endlessly back up traffic.
4. Small businesses are the bedrock of our economy.
Stop harassing them.
5. Wrest control of all municipal services, especially
schools, away from the unions and “educrats.” Great civil servants go
unrewarded, bad ones go unpunished, and the people, particularly students,
suffer. We need to streamline rules to more easily get rid of bizarre
administrators, such as the Brooklyn principal who doesn’t want her students to
sing patriotic songs. We need to stop teaching politically motivated
nonsense to our students, and get back to the basics of reading, writing,
arithmetic, and U.S. history. Speaking of history, let’s stop shoving
anti-American propaganda down our students’ throats. To make sure each school
is doing all that it can to provide a quality education, support competitive
funding methods such as voucher systems and charter schools.
6. Both public sector unions and businesses that contract
with the city should be barred from contributing money, office space, or any
services to political campaigns.
7. Let’s develop better waterfront and industrial zoning
rules. Over the years, luxury housing and parks have replaced working port
facilities and industrial areas. Along the way, we’ve also zoned light
manufacturing and the maritime industry to the brink of extinction. NYC
needs blue collar jobs. Better use of our waterfront and our zoning laws
is urgently required.
8. Utilize fingerprinting for local benefits, to insure that
only bona fide New Yorkers receive them.
9. Embrace local government. The boroughs would be
better served if more authority over local matters was left to local residents
and borough presidents. Making the BP position more meaningful would
attract more qualified individuals to run for that office. However, the
appointment of community board chairs and district managers should be
completely taken out of the hands of all politicians. If those positions
are to be meaningful, than they must be responsible to local residents, not the
elected officials who they depend upon for appointment.
10. Replace current campaign finance rules that are
essentially windfalls to incumbents and political bosses, with simple
disclosure requirements and the provision of public forums so that all
contenders can access the voters. We need to get more competition into our
elections.
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