Defenseless

The President has spent vast sums on "stimulus" programs that have done nothing to revive the economy.  However, the White House has now chosen to address the deficit by slashing a federal program that truly does provide a vital service to the nation, and that historically has had a positive effect on the economy: the military.

   The cuts will, unfortunately, affect muscle, not fat. The White House chose to ignore an inefficient and bloated procurement process that hurts more than helps the armed services. Mr. Obama also chose to ignore a political process where elected officials hike the cost of needed weapons systems by holding back their support unless contracts for frequently unnecessary "bells and whistles" that just happen to be made in their districts are included.   

   On January 3, the White House published its key position paper "Sustaining US Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense."  The new policy totally overturns America's deterrence position, which has prevented another world war for over a half century. 

   By repudiating the national defense requirement that the nation be prepared to fight a two front conflict, it places the US in danger of being incapable to deal with simultaneous crises in different parts of the world. 

     The primary accomplishment of the new policy is a sharply reduced armed force, including a reduction in personnel by over a third, and a slashing of our last-ditch nuclear deterrent by eliminating a third of our nuclear sub force.  The cuts may not end there; another $600 billion could be eliminated from the defense budget unless savings are found elsewhere in the federal government. This is on top of the sharp reductions our military has already endured over the years. Since 1990, the Navy has been cut from 600 ships to 288, the Army from 18 divisions to 10, and the USAF from 37 combat wings to 20.

    Those advocating a reduced defense budget cling to the incorrect notion that US military spending is larger than the combined budgets of several of our adversaries. That oft-stated cliché is totally incorrect.  For example, most of China's defense budget both openly excludes numerous items that the U.S. considers military-related, and secretly hides vast expenditures in other budget lines.

    Obama's position depends on a "best case" scenario.  In its summary of how to maintain a viable nuclear deterrent, the policy statement notes: "It is possible that our deterrence goals can be achieved with a smaller nuclear force, which would reduce the number of nuclear weapons in our inventory as well as their role in U.S. national security strategy."  This wishful thinking has guided much of the Obama Administration's nuclear policy.  It has surrendered to Moscow on antimissile radar deployment in Europe, and in its ABM policy in general.  It has virtually ignored China's soaring nuclear capability, Russia's return to belligerence, North Korea's atomic threats, and Iran's eagerness to use nuclear weapons.

   An example of the intellectual dishonesty that prevails in the White House can be seen in the Administration's policy towards fighter aircraft.  The F-22 program was drastically scaled back, using the excuse that the less costly F-35 would do the job as well.  The administration then cut back the F-35, too.  The end result is that many of our pilots will be flying deteriorating craft older than they are. 

   The same holds true for land-based systems.  Due to a failure to replace older and less capable artillery systems in the prior administration, our army now must face the reality of being outgunned on the field of battle.   

   The President's new policy is not a slight change; it is a dramatic and unprecedented shift in a concept that has kept us safe since 1945.  Estimates are that further cuts in defense spending could cost New York State 26,000 jobs, and harm 2,707 small businesses.

    It deserves a far more critical analysis than it has been given by either the press or in Congress.

The Governor's Proposed Budget

    Governor Cuomo's budget presents a mixed bag. It contains  laudable achievements in reducing one shots and fiscal sleights of hand, and takes courageous steps in addressing a long standing educational issue.   However, it fails to control runaway union costs, and the practice of imposing unfunded mandates.  It also doesn't provide a desperately needed measure to revive the upstate economy, by ignoring hydrofracking.  

          

      The Governor notably demands that the powerful teachers' lobby accept some responsibility for the pitiful condition of our public schools, and pushes for new standards of performance.  The unacceptable fact that NY spends more per pupil than any other state, but gets generally dismal results in return, has been intentionally overlooked for far too long by governors, state senators and assembly members bowing to the activist teachers' union in return for contributions and votes.

     Clearly, the state government cannot resolve its systematic budgetary dilemmas until the elaborate political giveaway to public sector unions, the Tribrough Amendment, is repealed.  That is the law which requires both Albany and all local governments to retain for their employees contractual perks including automatic "step" increases even after the expiration of union contracts.  By failing to address this, county officials throughout the state will continue to be caught between a rock and a hard place.  They must comply with unyielding union demands, adhere to unfunded mandates, and meet expenses under the long-overdue property tax cap. New York State's Conference of Mayors, school district leaders and others are urging that Triborough be repealed.

             

     Putting public sector union costs on a realistic and fair basis is the right course of action.  However, the Triborough Amendment prevents this. The Manhattan Institute's recently released report, "Triborough Trouble," condemns the costs of this three decade old law.  Guaranteed pay hikes for state government employees alone due to Triborough cost $140 million a year.  That figure doesn't include the numerous other county and local union costs. For example, Increases for NYC teachers total $150 million, and adds $93 million to school budgets statewide. Those numbers represent only a fraction of the problem. As the report further notes, Triborough makes it almost impossible to fruitfully negotiate reasonable, common sense updates to new contracts.

      For far too long, state elected officials have failed to confront runaway union costs out of fear of losing campaign contributions.   It's time for that to change. 

Honest Redistricting is Key to Restoring Honest Government

            For far too long, New York has had the dubious distinction of having “the most dysfunctional legislature in the nation.”

The reason for this is clear: competitive elections in New York State are virtually nonexistent.    They have largely vanished due to practices such as using taxpayer funded newsletters as thinly veiled campaign literature; the use of member items to force voter loyalty; and, most importantly, the establishment of districts that virtually insure reelection bids.

It is doubtful that any of these corrupt practices will ever be corrected by incumbents whose reelection is guaranteed no matter how badly they behave.  Add to these misdeeds the clearly illegal acts of numerous elected officials who have been caught stealing money, in one way or the other, from the public treasury, and the increasingly worrisome practice of voter fraud, and you have a clear picture of a legislature that is, by every measure, a disgrace.

Despite their dismal performance, more incumbents leave office through death and indictment than through losing re-election.  The facts are staggering: The re-election rate since 2002 has been 96%.  In one particular year, 2006, 100% of all incumbents that ran for reelection won.  That would have been embarrassing even in the old Soviet Union.  The situation is getting worse.  As Citizens Union reports, “The number of uncontested state general election legislative races (in which there is no opponent or no major party challenger) increased from 1 percent in 1968 to 19 percent of all seats in 2010.” More State Senators and Assembly members leave office due to death and indictment than they do to losing campaigns.

 Last year, former NYC mayor Ed Koch spearheaded a drive to demand nonpartisan redistricting. Before the 2010 election, almost every incumbent state senator and assembly member signed a written pledge to support that goal, a vow they completely ignored once the voters finished casting their ballots.  Federal law mandates that district lines must be redrawn to comply with the census taken that year.

A special report by Citizens Union was recently released, noting that:

            “The rigged system of redistricting is corrupting the spirit and reality of representative democracy in New York.  It has become a form of collusion between the two parties, drawing safe districts that protect incumbents and limit voter choice by effectively ending competitive elections.  This in turn…[gives] disproportionate influence to special interests.  An independent redistricting commission would empower people to choose their politicians, rather than vice versa. No election reform would do more to heal the harsh but artificial polarization of our politics while adding real accountability to Albany.”

            Having elected officials determine their own districts is absurd.  A truly nonpartisan redistricting commission should exclude elected officials, their direct staffs or other appointees, their families, and their business associates. The same should hold true for party officials.

It is clear that democracy in the Empire State is in a deep crisis which can only be resolved by a truly representative legislature that is the product of genuinely fair elections.

A Dispassionate View of Nuclear Energy

         Nuclear energy isn’t an abstract issue.  It’s a fact of life, but the facts are often lost in emotional and partisan debates.  It’s time to take a dispassionate view.

The 400 nuclear plants throughout the world account for 20% of the world’s electricity.  France garners 75% of all its electricity from nuclear power. There are one hundred nuclear plants throughout the USA. Since 1962, six nuclear plants, beginning with the Oswego facility in 1962, have been built in New York.  They account for about 13% of the state’s electric generating capacity, 26% of its power supply, and 11% of total consumption. 

They were developed largely due to the fact that they produce power far more economically than other sources.  Overall production costs are approximately 1.76 cents per kilowatt-hour.  Coal is the next cheapest, at 2.21 cents, and natural gas costs about 7.61 cents. Unlike oil and coal, there is little in the way of supply problems. Supplying plants utilizing those two sources require constant and large scale delivery efforts. By contrast, in nuclear plants, a single uranium pellet can deliver the equivalent of 1,780 lbs. of coals, or 149 gallons of oil. Because of this, nuclear plants are not subject to significant supply problems.  The source is home grown, freeing Americans from the whims of unfriendly foreign governments. The various factors that interrupt deliveries to other types of plants don’t affect nuclear facilities. 

          Operationally, nuclear plants are environmentally friendly.  James Hansen, who introduced the concept of global warming in 1988, advocated the use of nuclear power as a means to combat the issue. Unlike hydroelectric plants, there is no need to dam rivers or disrupt the surrounding environment.

         Radioactivity is one of the most frequently cited concerns in discussions on the use of nuclear power plants. Oddly enough, old fashioned coal-fired plants actually emit more radiation into the air than nuclear facilities. No American has ever been killed or seriously injured because of a reactor accident or radiation exposure from a U.S. nuclear power plant. (Even the well known Three Mile River incident failed to produce any significant radiation problems.) Internationally, the Chernobyl incident resulted from an inherently faulty design; another example of the blatant disregard for worker and environmental safety that characterizes Communist nations. The harm done to Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant—Japan depends on nuclear plants for about 30% of its power-- resulted from a level of poor planning not characteristic of the American experience, questionable plant siting, an unprecedented combination of extreme natural disasters, and the failure of conventional power to allow safety mechanisms to work.

New York’s need for abundant, home-grown, affordable, nonpolluting energy renders nuclear power a viable option, providing that safety and security remains a top priority for plant operators.

10 Point Plan to Restore NYS to Prosperity

On his WVOX show this morning, COMACTA president Frank Vernuccio unveiled his 10-point plan to restore NYS to prosperity:

1.     Allow Public Referendums on key issues.  For far too long, “three men in a room”—the Governor, the Assembly Speaker, and the Senate leader-- have controlled all that occurs in state government. Individual legislators have little say in the ultimate outcome of key issues.  We need to break that logjam, and insure that the people’s business—not the interests of the politicians—gets done.  Allowing easy access to public referendums on key issues would change the dynamics of Albany.

2.     Freeze all taxes.  For over three decades, New York has ranked either first or second in the nation as the highest taxed state. We have little to show for it.  Our roads and bridges are crumbling, our grammar and high schools are not serving our children adequately, and our economy, particularly upstate, is far too weak.  Giving more money to Albany is about the same as giving extra drugs to an addict.  It will cure nothing, and only make matters worse. Halting future tax hikes would give businesses the confidence to hire employees and energize the economy.

3.     Impose the nation’s most stringent measures of proof for benefits, to ensure that only citizens and legal residents have access to them, and that only those truly qualified—by both legal residency and eligibility—receive them.  We should not shortchange those New Yorkers truly in need by wasting scarce resources on con artists or those with no legal right to be here.

4.     Abolish member items, and replace them with objective criteria.  Worthwhile civic organizations should not have to support individual politicians just to get the funds they are entitled to.  This encourages politicians to provide funds based on how many votes or campaign contributions they receive from organizations, rather than on how worthwhile an organization is.

5.     Adopt a voucher system.  The fact is, despite spending more per student than any other state in the nation, (NY spends $18,126 per student, compared to the national average of $10,499) the results are poor.  Schools must strive for excellence, not bureaucratic compliance.  We need to refocus our educational system to emphasize the needs of students, not educational unions and bureaucrats.

6.     Make use of our natural resources.  New York has vast supplies of natural resources that cannot be tapped for reasons having more to do with ideology than ecology. This limits our economy, increases unemployment, and robs the state of revenue that could be used to limit taxes.

7.     Free local governments—eliminate unfunded mandates.  Albany’s politicians enact measures that make them popular in the eyes of their campaign contributors or party leaders, but force local governments to carry the burden.  This takes away local government’s ability to pay for truly essential services to meet the political needs of Albany.  This harms communities across the state.

8.     Establish a statewide Ombudsman’s office with appropriate power—and mandate that those who administer it cannot run for political office for a decade after leaving their position.  The vast bureaucracies that administer New York’s numerous agencies and regulate so much of our daily lives and businesses frequently fail to do what is necessary to protect New Yorker’s rights. Intra-agency appeals offices frequently do little more than affirm what their parent agency does.  A statewide ombudsman office, manned not by politicians but by fair, dedicated professionals, could change the balance of power between citizens and the bureaucracy.  The ombudsman’s office would also have jurisdiction over all complaints and charges of misdeeds of elected officials, and have the prosecutorial power to bring charges against them.

9.     Forbid elected officials from engaging in any profit or fee generating activities with those doing business with the state, both while in office and for a period of five years thereafter. The reasons are obvious. We must insure that the needs of New Yorkers are paramount.

10.  Forbid public service unions from contributing, as an organization, money, endorsements, office space, or volunteers to political campaigns. Public service unions have gained so much clout in Albany that it seems we work for them, not they for us.  Their unmatched influence has totally eclipsed the ability of all citizens or organizations to have a voice in Albany.

     New York can be both prosperous and a great place to live—if only Albany will get out of the way of the wisdom of its constituents, and the ability of its enterprises to reignite the economy.   

New York's Shrinking Workforce

            As the “Great Recession” continues to affect our state, it is becoming increasingly apparent that we will soon have to face life with a potentially much smaller state workforce.

The issue is particularly prominent this year, as negotiations with the Public Employees Federation (PEF) dominated Governor Cuomo’s attention.  During the hard bargaining, (inspired in no small part by the state’s $10 billion dollar budget gap) 3,496 positions were identified as being vulnerable to elimination, a result of PEF’s member rejection of the proposed five year contract.  While the result may not be that severe, the hard fact is that sooner, rather than later, the number of individuals in state government service will begin to decrease. Certainly, it is unlikely that all of the record-setting 30,772 state employees who retired last year will be replaced.

One of the most tenacious issues affecting Albany’s payroll is the continued existence of the Triborough Amendment.  In 1967, the “Public Employees Fair Employment Act,” known popularly as the Taylor Law, was enacted. It required Albany to negotiate with unions, and prohibited public employees from striking, imposing severe penalties for doing so.  It was one of the first statutes in America to comprehensively address the rights and obligations of state employees. 

The strong penalties mandated for illegal strikes were rarely enforced. At various times, corrections officers, transit workers and others engaged in strikes and job actions. An attempt at labor peace was made in 1982 with the passage of the Triborough Amendment, which prohibited the State Government from changing any provision of expired contracts until a replacement was agreed to. The concept seemed, at first, reasonable. While unions still lacked the legal right to strike, they did have the security of being protected by the provisions of an agreement that was fairly recently acceptable.  It provided automatic pay increases for salary or longevity step schedule hikes, even after contracts establishing them had expired, unless there was a new agreement. Further, in an era when all employees are being asked to contribute more to their own health insurance, Triborough provides an avenue for public employees to reject the state government’s attempts to ask public employees to do the same. Governor Cuomo’s mandate relief study team, (including Deputy Westchester County Executive Larry Schwartz) is reviewing the Triborough Amendment. Westchester Assemblyman Robert Castelli introduced a bill to repeal this provision during the recent legislative session.

In practice, Triborough contains a serious flaw.  During times of downturns, such as in today’s harsh economic climate, the state lacks the funds to offer new contracts with more attractive terms to unions, and may even be forced to request give-backs. Under the provisions of the Triborough Amendment, unions have no incentive to replace an expired but still effective agreement with one that is less attractive.

The end result is that Albany has few options, other than reducing its workforce by layoffs or by not replacing retiring employees. New Yorkers will have to endure reduced service while this dilemma continues to produce acrimony between the state government and those who staff its agencies. 

COMACTA SPONSORED RADIO BREAKS NEWS ON HOLDER SCANDAL

HOLDER NEEDS TO GO AND DOJ NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED

 

On the  July 16th, 2011 “And Nothing But the Truth” show, sponsored by COMACTA, hosts Frank Vernuccio and Larry Allison along with regular guest “2nd amendment” Mike Timlin first questioned Attorney General Eric Holder’s assertion in his May 3, 2011 testimony before  Rep Darrell Issa’s  House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.that he had only learned about about  “Operation Fast and Furious “in the past several weeks”.  The evidence on the public record at  that time including a statement by President Obama on  March 22, 2011 during a Univision interview that neither he or Holder had authorized this rogue operation made Holder’s timetable of what he knew and when he knew it… untenable on it’s face.

 

 It took the mainstream media over 2 months before they reached the same conclusion.  Now that e-mails to the AG from mid 2010 have surfaced indicating that he had official knowledge of this operation this situation now rises to a level of seriousness concerning either the Attorney General’ s veracity before congress  or his level of competency in a critical Cabinet position.  These revelations along with shocking disclosures about the inner workings of the Obama Justice Department in other sections such as the Division of Civil Rights as delineated in J. Christian Adams new book “Injustice” , demand that a Holder resign and a special Counsel be appointed to investigate the workings of the DoJ in it’s entirety.