“Make the most you can of the Indian hemp seed. Sow it everywhere."
- George Washington -
“If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.”
- Thomas Jefferson -
It is well-known (within my circles, anyway) that Washington and Jefferson were both promoters of hemp and its many uses. They both articulated an excellent case for this “weed” because they saw it as a way to create some agrarian self-sufficiency for our fledgling republic. Specifically, from what I have read on the subject, they saw it as a way to reduce our dependence on foreign goods and trade.
Back then, hemp was widely used by small farmers as a food and as a natural fiber with which one could make cloth, rope and paper. The oil from its seed could be used to fuel lamps or a torch. Its slightly different cousin, Marijuana, could also be used to aid those in pain (not to mention providing one with a ’sunnier’ disposition). Hemp and pot, today, are no less useful with the noted exception that, growing either will get you sent to prison. How is it we got to this point? How did we go from our founding fathers expounding the virtues of this miraculous ‘weed’ to a puritanical society in which it growers are jailed?
If you do not know about how slavery and industrial agriculture and Dupont (and many other various and sundry catalysts) lead to hemp and marijuana prohibition, I would humbly suggest that you have some reading to do. Suffice it to say that most reasonably informed individuals can agree that the real reasons for this prohibition had very little to do with marijuana usage and any negative impact said usage may have had upon society.
There are lots of marijuana reform advocates who feel compelled to isolate discussion of these multiple issues to “medical marijuana” instead of speaking about the broader subjects of marijuana and hemp reform. While they are all inter-twined, it does hemp a great disservice to let the medical marijuana issue speak for it. While all prohibitions on these plants are immensely unjust, they are not all the same issue. As such, I’m not going to speak about medical marijuana. If Ed Dague and his brave and frank public discussion of pain and relief have not melted our regional resolve where this cruel prohibition is concerned, I really can’t imagine what else might.
I think that the quotes from the two iconic figures from American history that began this piece sum it all up quite nicely. Hemp (and pot) being illegal is an anti-farmer, anti-citizen issue and Jefferson and Washington knew that so lets keep it that simple as well. They were pretty smart guys, right?
Instead of “medical marijuana”, lets instead openly discuss the more prevalent use for marijuana. About 70% of Americans have admitted to engaging, at least once, in the smoking of marijuana to … get high … as a way to relax or just for kicks. Most of us have smoked pot. As a thinking individual who has performed this heinous act many different times in my life, I know from personal experience that it is far less harmful than alcohol or tobacco can be (and, arguably, far more amusing, as well). But, the government has made me so paranoid about occasionally blowing off steam in this manner, that I long ago switched over to working out or having a few glasses of wine or beer, instead.
Over 16,000 people are killed every year in the United States in alcohol-related vehicular accidents. Add this to the massive number of people who die every year from alcohol and tobacco use (85,000 and 435,000) and we’re looking at a death toll of over 536,000 people in the U.S. alone from alcohol and tobacco. How many people does pot kill?
Well, this evil, terrible, ‘gateway drug’ featured so honestly in classic films like ‘Reefer Madness’ has resulted in not one single documented case of death … ever, in the history of the universe. That’s the actual number … ZERO. Think about that for a second … 536,000 per year versus Zero.
Now, if you explain this to the average third grader … Substances A and B kill 536,000 people every year and Substance C kills no one. Then you ask them which substance should people be put in jail for using, what do you think they would say? Why is society’s answer to this question any different? Why do we prohibit the use of the substance with the zero death rate and legitimize and tax and regulate and encourage to use of the substances that kill so many of us? Are we complete and total idiots?
To put it simply, those who know these truths understand that pot and hemp must be illegal for reasons other than the propaganda calling pot a ‘gateway drug’ or a ‘dangerous substance’ because it is truly neither. The first reason is that big cotton growers did not want to see a developing crop that was easier to pick than theirs (hemp could be easily harvested with a machine while cotton needed to be picked by hand). Secondly, blacks and Mexicans were the primary users of Marijuana when it was criminalized which helped to provide a steady flow of inmates during the advent of our racist industrial prison system. Third, Dupont didn’t want its newly-emerging, petrol-based, technology (plastic) to have to compete with a better, cheaper, cleaner, natural product that could be used in almost every application with as good or better results. Lastly, the CIA needs a way to fund its illegal and covert operations.
So we deny ourselves access to a natural product that truly could be ours. A product that can be grown domestically and made into composites harder and lighter than most carbon fiber resins. We deny ourselves a clean fuel source that can be burned in any diesel engine. We prevent the growth of a cash crop that can be eaten at our breakfast tables and worn on our backs. We say no to rejuvenating small family farms in America by allowing them to grow a crop that is 100% usable and that will flourish pretty much anywhere and with far less impact than wheat, corn and most other subsidized commodity crops. Why? Because our government does not do things that benefit us unless we force it to do so.
Today (Friday April 17th) on the East Capital Lawn in Albany, from 2pm to 6pm, there will be a “Rally To Restore Your Rights Ending Cannabis Prohibition”. Its organizers say there will be live bands, activist speakers and hemp products for sale. We should all be there.
I know that if George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were around today, not only would they be speaking at the rally, they probably would have been the ones to call me and ask if I would be attending, in place of the current organizers, N.Y.C.A.M.P. (New York Citizens Against Marijuana Prohibition).
Would George and Tom have been heading over to the Dead show at the Times Union Center afterwards? Of that, I can’t be certain.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The New Tea(bag) Party
Today, many lunatics from the Sean Hannity, Glen Beck and Fox TV camps will be protesting our “tax and spend” federal government at various public places around the country. They will do this by bringing tea (bags) to the steps of post offices, City Halls and legislatures and other governmental buildings and by mailing tea bags to their elected officials. These crazy people will be lured by various extremist ideologies, including the wacky Libertarian belief that it is unconstitutional for the federal government to collect a tax on wages.
I spent a large part of my day yesterday listening to disparaging comments directed at these “tea-partiers” by many in the media, some made by my own friends and political compatriots. Many right wing pundits have latched onto this protest idea as if it is their own and many on the perceived left now see this action as a brazen, corporate attack on their shiny new president. With a Democrat now firmly ensconced in office, its easy for them to imagine that all of the people who will be involved today are Republicans or right-wingers or racists.
Well, I’ll be one of those “lunatics” and I am not a Republican, a right-winger or a racist. I know many others who will be out there as well who are not so easily or accurately defined by these labels. In fact, the organizer of our local protest is a Vietnam veteran who has been fairly active in the peace movement for years. He does not belong to either major political party (he dismisses them both as “War, Inc.”).
While he may not share many of my more progressive views, he is a good and respectful man and he is also a successful tax resistor. It is pretty clear to me that he is not lead by people like Beck or Hannity (or by anyone else, for that matter). He seems to be a pretty well-read guy who figures things out for himself.
To me, this situation is similar to how all the peace vigils suddenly ended once Obama was elected. Why did this happen? The wars certainly aren’t over! Guantanamo certainly isn’t closed. There are currently more mercenaries in Iraq than at any point previous. Extraordinary rendition has continued. Why then, don’t the peace vigils continue? Were they really just anti-Bush vigils?
Many would level this accusation at the whole anti-war movement. They would say that we were just working with moveon.org to protest Bush in order to get a Democrat elected. Well, I was definitely not out there for those reasons. I was out there to protest a war for resource that we didn’t need to be involved in. The lack of a substantial peace movement today makes me scratch the old noggin, though. Were the right-wing pundits correct about the bulk of us?
I have finally realized that many in the Peace movement really do only object to war when it is clear that the war in question is a Republican war. But the criticism concerning ulterior motive was regularly leveled at all of us by conservative pundits and this is unfair. Many people did only fill the streets because moveon.org told them to but it is of vital importance to know that there were also many of us who were not there merely to support corporate machine politics.
While there is no doubt that some among us may have been wearing Democratic Party T-shirts under their anti-war uniforms and while they may have put those uniforms up on that shelf in the back of their closet (at least until the next “changing of the guard”), these people are not the whole peace movement. Not by a long stretch.
In my world, being an advocate for peace is still absolutely necessary, especially now that the Democrats are running the show. When a “bad” war falls under the jurisdiction of the Democratic Party, it doesn’t, all of a sudden, become a “good”war. The death toll (of both American soldiers and Middle Eastern civilians) doesn’t suddenly become a necessary and incremental step towards the peace. It is still a terrible waste of human life perpetrated by resource-hungry corporations and our military industrial complex. It still needs to be opposed!
During the Bush regime, many in the right-wing media excoriated anyone who was seen as supporting moveon.org or UFPJ or Code Pink, all of whom were involved in organizing protests and vigils. I never went to a single protest or rally coerced to do so by any of these groups (though one or more of them may have had their hand in the planning or promotion). To paint me as a Democrat and a follower just because I was there, rather than a principled peace advocate, is entirely unfair.
Now that the fake corporate party shoe is on the other fake corporate-party foot, I feel it is equally incorrect to say that everyone out there today opposing the collection and expenditure of taxes by our federal government is automatically being lead by right wing pundits and the Republican Party. Not correct! Some may well be there for these reasons, but not all of us. Don’t forget that. I will be at a tax protest today for several reasons …
1) I am no lawyer but I believe that it is unconstitutional to collect taxes on wages. Prior to interpretation by the courts, this actually seems pretty obvious and is stated quite clearly in our founding documents.
2) Based on what I have read, it does seem that the 16th amendment (the one allowing the eventual birth of the federal income tax) was never properly ratified. The court that finally claimed it to be properly ratified was stating this in relation to its use in collecting income made by sale of property and not income derived from a person’s labor.
3) I can’t think of too many things I like that the federal government (run by either major party) has done with my tax money in pretty much all of my adult years and I am very happy to have one more way to protest it.
4) Some members of my local community share my upset about how our taxes are collected and abused and I wish to show them support in expressing our collective frustration.
I will not be there because Glen Beck or Sean Hannity (or even Alex Jones) told me to be … no matter how badly some folk want to believe this is so.
I spent a large part of my day yesterday listening to disparaging comments directed at these “tea-partiers” by many in the media, some made by my own friends and political compatriots. Many right wing pundits have latched onto this protest idea as if it is their own and many on the perceived left now see this action as a brazen, corporate attack on their shiny new president. With a Democrat now firmly ensconced in office, its easy for them to imagine that all of the people who will be involved today are Republicans or right-wingers or racists.
Well, I’ll be one of those “lunatics” and I am not a Republican, a right-winger or a racist. I know many others who will be out there as well who are not so easily or accurately defined by these labels. In fact, the organizer of our local protest is a Vietnam veteran who has been fairly active in the peace movement for years. He does not belong to either major political party (he dismisses them both as “War, Inc.”).
While he may not share many of my more progressive views, he is a good and respectful man and he is also a successful tax resistor. It is pretty clear to me that he is not lead by people like Beck or Hannity (or by anyone else, for that matter). He seems to be a pretty well-read guy who figures things out for himself.
To me, this situation is similar to how all the peace vigils suddenly ended once Obama was elected. Why did this happen? The wars certainly aren’t over! Guantanamo certainly isn’t closed. There are currently more mercenaries in Iraq than at any point previous. Extraordinary rendition has continued. Why then, don’t the peace vigils continue? Were they really just anti-Bush vigils?
Many would level this accusation at the whole anti-war movement. They would say that we were just working with moveon.org to protest Bush in order to get a Democrat elected. Well, I was definitely not out there for those reasons. I was out there to protest a war for resource that we didn’t need to be involved in. The lack of a substantial peace movement today makes me scratch the old noggin, though. Were the right-wing pundits correct about the bulk of us?
I have finally realized that many in the Peace movement really do only object to war when it is clear that the war in question is a Republican war. But the criticism concerning ulterior motive was regularly leveled at all of us by conservative pundits and this is unfair. Many people did only fill the streets because moveon.org told them to but it is of vital importance to know that there were also many of us who were not there merely to support corporate machine politics.
While there is no doubt that some among us may have been wearing Democratic Party T-shirts under their anti-war uniforms and while they may have put those uniforms up on that shelf in the back of their closet (at least until the next “changing of the guard”), these people are not the whole peace movement. Not by a long stretch.
In my world, being an advocate for peace is still absolutely necessary, especially now that the Democrats are running the show. When a “bad” war falls under the jurisdiction of the Democratic Party, it doesn’t, all of a sudden, become a “good”war. The death toll (of both American soldiers and Middle Eastern civilians) doesn’t suddenly become a necessary and incremental step towards the peace. It is still a terrible waste of human life perpetrated by resource-hungry corporations and our military industrial complex. It still needs to be opposed!
During the Bush regime, many in the right-wing media excoriated anyone who was seen as supporting moveon.org or UFPJ or Code Pink, all of whom were involved in organizing protests and vigils. I never went to a single protest or rally coerced to do so by any of these groups (though one or more of them may have had their hand in the planning or promotion). To paint me as a Democrat and a follower just because I was there, rather than a principled peace advocate, is entirely unfair.
Now that the fake corporate party shoe is on the other fake corporate-party foot, I feel it is equally incorrect to say that everyone out there today opposing the collection and expenditure of taxes by our federal government is automatically being lead by right wing pundits and the Republican Party. Not correct! Some may well be there for these reasons, but not all of us. Don’t forget that. I will be at a tax protest today for several reasons …
1) I am no lawyer but I believe that it is unconstitutional to collect taxes on wages. Prior to interpretation by the courts, this actually seems pretty obvious and is stated quite clearly in our founding documents.
2) Based on what I have read, it does seem that the 16th amendment (the one allowing the eventual birth of the federal income tax) was never properly ratified. The court that finally claimed it to be properly ratified was stating this in relation to its use in collecting income made by sale of property and not income derived from a person’s labor.
3) I can’t think of too many things I like that the federal government (run by either major party) has done with my tax money in pretty much all of my adult years and I am very happy to have one more way to protest it.
4) Some members of my local community share my upset about how our taxes are collected and abused and I wish to show them support in expressing our collective frustration.
I will not be there because Glen Beck or Sean Hannity (or even Alex Jones) told me to be … no matter how badly some folk want to believe this is so.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Global Foundries - Economic Development?
Wearing my business owner’s hat, I just have to ask … “How can I get me some of that free taxpayer money that AMD/Global Foundries is getting from New York State?” They are receiving a cash and pilot subsidy package amounting to between $800,000 and $1,500,000 per job (depending on which job projections you feel are most accurate).
I’m just kidding, of course. I don’t actually desire public money to run my private business. In fact, as with most business owners, I would never even think of demanding that the public support my for-profit business. That’s the very nature of being in business; you ask the public to support you by voting with their dollars, buying your product or service but I see it as completely indefensible to force the public to support you no matter how prevalent the practice or how acceptable your golfing buddies may find it to be.
Is there really no pride left in corporate America at all?
There are services our government is supposed to perform. They are supposed to do things like fix roads and make sure our elections are fair (and I think many of us see them as being incapable of handling these relatively simple tasks at times). Should they really also be deciding for us which entities are worthy of massive corporate welfare benefits and which are not? I feel that business has absolutely no right to suckle at the public’s teat, especially without said public’s permission.
These lines have been seriously muddied over the last several decades as occasional, support-oriented, economic aid has given way to massive and regular entitlement. The welfare recipient corporations have attuned themselves to a system requiring them to compete with each for “economic development” packages on one level or another. We citizens have to start putting our collective foot down. The time for such nonsense is over. We are in a serious recession. We do need jobs but we need sustainable jobs, not ones paid for with the equivalent of counterfeit money, money we will be expected to pay back with interest.
Simple math dictates that AMD’s original projection of 800 jobs divided into a $1.2 billion dollar subsidy equals over a million and a half dollars per job and that is just ridiculous! I have some questions for the conspirators in our state government who are intending to get away with this.
1. AMD is losing substantial money every quarter. Given that, would any bank in the world lend them this kind of money, never mind just give it to them with basically no strings attached?
2. Even considering secondary and tertiary development, what exact formula has been used to determine that this plant will be worth $1.5 million per projected job? While others may trust what consultants have to say on the matter, I want to see the actual numbers that lowed our elected officials to see this “investment” as justifiable.
3. This entire deal is based on microchips made in the USA competing successfully against similar chips being produced in China and India. How will AMD be competitive, post-NAFTA, against what amounts to wage slavery in the developing world?
When these questions are answered perhaps I can stop being such a Pollyanna. Until then, I will continue to see this as yet one more egregious cash grab made by people who obviously don’t care who they hurt, using taxpayer funds to enrich themselves and their cronies.
I’m just kidding, of course. I don’t actually desire public money to run my private business. In fact, as with most business owners, I would never even think of demanding that the public support my for-profit business. That’s the very nature of being in business; you ask the public to support you by voting with their dollars, buying your product or service but I see it as completely indefensible to force the public to support you no matter how prevalent the practice or how acceptable your golfing buddies may find it to be.
Is there really no pride left in corporate America at all?
There are services our government is supposed to perform. They are supposed to do things like fix roads and make sure our elections are fair (and I think many of us see them as being incapable of handling these relatively simple tasks at times). Should they really also be deciding for us which entities are worthy of massive corporate welfare benefits and which are not? I feel that business has absolutely no right to suckle at the public’s teat, especially without said public’s permission.
These lines have been seriously muddied over the last several decades as occasional, support-oriented, economic aid has given way to massive and regular entitlement. The welfare recipient corporations have attuned themselves to a system requiring them to compete with each for “economic development” packages on one level or another. We citizens have to start putting our collective foot down. The time for such nonsense is over. We are in a serious recession. We do need jobs but we need sustainable jobs, not ones paid for with the equivalent of counterfeit money, money we will be expected to pay back with interest.
Simple math dictates that AMD’s original projection of 800 jobs divided into a $1.2 billion dollar subsidy equals over a million and a half dollars per job and that is just ridiculous! I have some questions for the conspirators in our state government who are intending to get away with this.
1. AMD is losing substantial money every quarter. Given that, would any bank in the world lend them this kind of money, never mind just give it to them with basically no strings attached?
2. Even considering secondary and tertiary development, what exact formula has been used to determine that this plant will be worth $1.5 million per projected job? While others may trust what consultants have to say on the matter, I want to see the actual numbers that lowed our elected officials to see this “investment” as justifiable.
3. This entire deal is based on microchips made in the USA competing successfully against similar chips being produced in China and India. How will AMD be competitive, post-NAFTA, against what amounts to wage slavery in the developing world?
When these questions are answered perhaps I can stop being such a Pollyanna. Until then, I will continue to see this as yet one more egregious cash grab made by people who obviously don’t care who they hurt, using taxpayer funds to enrich themselves and their cronies.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
The Adirondack Phantoms?
Glens Falls is my home. It has been for many years now. Our little city famously lost its AHL franchise, the mighty Adirondack Red Wings, in 1999. That’s when the league decided that two of its franchises could survive just 50 miles away from each other. They gave the River Rats the go ahead to set up shop at the Knick and the rest is history.
They were wrong and both hockey markets have suffered many seasons of low turnout and disappointed fans ever since. In Glens Falls, this has meant that we, the taxpayers, have been left to foot the bill for a 5,000 seat arena with a population of just over 14,000 people.
Since the Wings left home, two UHL franchises have tried their luck and failed; the Icehawks and the Frostbite. While those of us who love hockey latched right on to both, we all knew that this new hockey was not the same as the old hockey. Many came to see an occasional game but few religiously marked their calendars and made a serious effort the way they did when the Wings were here.
There are many in our community who just want to throw in the towel. They are sick and tired of hearing about how badly the hockey community wants to see AHL level play again. I am an absolute believer, though. I know there is a stalwart community of hockey fans here that will pony up the money to buy season tickets when the AHL returns.
Last year, the city signed a deal with Global Spectrum, a private management company from Philadelphia, and they now handle booking, scheduling and promotion for all events at the Civic Center. It just so happens that Global Spectrum is also employed by an AHL team called the Philadelphia Phantoms and, it just so happens that the Phantoms will be homeless for about three or four years as their new arena is being built back home. Can anyone say, “Welcome back, great hockey, to Glens Falls?” I would be lying if I said I was not excited at the idea of having truly great hockey played here again a mere stone’s throw away from my home and business.
That said, it was recently reported that Glens Falls suffered the highest unemployment spike in New York State and most of us are eager to see some relief. A badly made deal with big subsidies given to a sports team (which most taxpayers rightly view as a diversion, at best) would be a huge mistake.
I attended the final River Rats game in Glens Falls this past weekend and there were notices taped to the seats that warmed my heart. They were letting hockey fans know that the Phantoms are seriously considering coming to town and spelling out that the magic number is 2500 season tickets for them to see Glens Falls as a viable option. That’s a lot of tickets … but that’s also refreshingly direct.
As a business owner, I see most subsidies as little more than corporate welfare thinly-disguised as economic development and I love that this team is being so up front about their actual financial needs. I would have seen this as a respectable move in the best of economic times but, in a recession, this was, unquestionably, taking the high road. The Phantoms definitely have earned my respect for not pushing our community hard to make the many pay for the enjoyment of the few. That would not be fair and I am glad that they know this.
If the hockey community is really big enough and enthusiastic enough to support an AHL team here, then we need to sell those season tickets and we will have ourselves a team. If we don’t sell them, the Phantoms will (sadly) go somewhere else but, at least, the taxpayers won’t be saddled with yet one more burden.
The Phantoms are already proving themselves to be a class act. As far as I’m concerned, they’re already my team!
They were wrong and both hockey markets have suffered many seasons of low turnout and disappointed fans ever since. In Glens Falls, this has meant that we, the taxpayers, have been left to foot the bill for a 5,000 seat arena with a population of just over 14,000 people.
Since the Wings left home, two UHL franchises have tried their luck and failed; the Icehawks and the Frostbite. While those of us who love hockey latched right on to both, we all knew that this new hockey was not the same as the old hockey. Many came to see an occasional game but few religiously marked their calendars and made a serious effort the way they did when the Wings were here.
There are many in our community who just want to throw in the towel. They are sick and tired of hearing about how badly the hockey community wants to see AHL level play again. I am an absolute believer, though. I know there is a stalwart community of hockey fans here that will pony up the money to buy season tickets when the AHL returns.
Last year, the city signed a deal with Global Spectrum, a private management company from Philadelphia, and they now handle booking, scheduling and promotion for all events at the Civic Center. It just so happens that Global Spectrum is also employed by an AHL team called the Philadelphia Phantoms and, it just so happens that the Phantoms will be homeless for about three or four years as their new arena is being built back home. Can anyone say, “Welcome back, great hockey, to Glens Falls?” I would be lying if I said I was not excited at the idea of having truly great hockey played here again a mere stone’s throw away from my home and business.
That said, it was recently reported that Glens Falls suffered the highest unemployment spike in New York State and most of us are eager to see some relief. A badly made deal with big subsidies given to a sports team (which most taxpayers rightly view as a diversion, at best) would be a huge mistake.
I attended the final River Rats game in Glens Falls this past weekend and there were notices taped to the seats that warmed my heart. They were letting hockey fans know that the Phantoms are seriously considering coming to town and spelling out that the magic number is 2500 season tickets for them to see Glens Falls as a viable option. That’s a lot of tickets … but that’s also refreshingly direct.
As a business owner, I see most subsidies as little more than corporate welfare thinly-disguised as economic development and I love that this team is being so up front about their actual financial needs. I would have seen this as a respectable move in the best of economic times but, in a recession, this was, unquestionably, taking the high road. The Phantoms definitely have earned my respect for not pushing our community hard to make the many pay for the enjoyment of the few. That would not be fair and I am glad that they know this.
If the hockey community is really big enough and enthusiastic enough to support an AHL team here, then we need to sell those season tickets and we will have ourselves a team. If we don’t sell them, the Phantoms will (sadly) go somewhere else but, at least, the taxpayers won’t be saddled with yet one more burden.
The Phantoms are already proving themselves to be a class act. As far as I’m concerned, they’re already my team!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Finally, A Progressive President
Obama is unable to say the words “single-payer health care.”
Some of you reading this are saying, “Yeah? So? What’s that, anyway … single-payer health care?” Well, simply put, its a health care system very similar to the Canadian system. It’s pretty much the same as HR 676, sponsored by John Conyers in Congress and it’s a lot like like the new bill (S.703) put forward by Senator Bernie Sanders. Basically, its new and improved Medicare for all.
Imagine there’s no HMO-style delivery system sitting right smack in the middle of your health care dollar, siphoning off 25-35% of your premium! The savings would be intense, as you might imagine. Imagine also that doctors are able to just treat you without ever having to wonder what level of care your insurance company will allow them to employ. Imagine that there are no forms to fill out and that you can go anywhere you like to seek treatment without any co-pays.
What’s the trick? No trick. I went to school in Canada and have ex-pat relatives who live there and the Canadian system is absolutely amazing. I could relate personal anecdotes all day about how terrible the American health care system can be and how great the Canadian system can be by comparison but, for the moment, lets just stick to the objective part of the equation.
It costs Canadians about $5200 per person for their single-payer health care system and this is about $2700 less per person than we will spend this year, per capita, in the United States. This means that we already spend more than enough to cover everybody. That’s the dirty little secret of corporate health care propaganda. It would actually be cheaper to cover everybody. Canadians also live a full year longer than we do. That’s another dirty little secret. You can do the math.
If, as the Rush Limbaugh crowd would attest, our new president is such a “socialist”, I have to wonder why he is not trumpeting this (seemingly, Communist) conspiracy that would make us all healthy while saving us money? Why are Democratic apologists falling all over each other trying to explain to us about “political feasibility” and achieving “the possible”.
“After all”, they say, “the guy’s only been in office for a few months. Give him a break. He’s got to work on these things one small step at a time.” He is currently advocating a forced HMO plan that would be no more effective or affordable than asking Dow Chemical to grow our food and his party is telling us he has a plan.
You’d think that this guy who just land-slided the election on a campaign of hope and change would be a far better strategist than these apologists are claiming. He just told his supporters that we are in desperate economic straits and that he would need to print several trillion dollars and give it out to people (mostly to people other than those who are actually hurting) and … everyone is actually buying it! They say, “Well, he’s got to do something, right?” Congress debates for about fourteen minutes and then says, “Okay, Barack. We trust you. You got to do what you got to do.”
We all know that Obama is riding a very short wave. It will end soon and now is probably the only time during his first four years that he might be able to approach congress with something this important and actually expect to get it passed. Even so, he’s pulling a Hillary Clinton on us instead and everyone seems to be buying it!
If Obama was really a socially-conscious guy, he would go on TV tomorrow and he would say, “Almost 20,000 Americans are dying every year because they lack access to health care and I can’t stand it anymore! Not on my watch! It’s a crisis and I’m going to fix it. I have a plan and it will save us money and it will also cover everyone. Similar models are being used in dozens of other countries around the world and it would simply be stupid not to follow their lead just because the HMO lobbies tell us we have to.”
But, he’s not going to do this and I don’t actually blame him. I blame you, the Obama voter. It’s your fault. You voted for him and you did so in a safe state where it made no difference at all. I told you he didn’t have a progressive bone in his body and you said, “That’s okay, Matt. We’ll hold his feet to the fire. Look at the movement! Look at all the young people! Look at all the excitement Obama generates.”
I’ll believe the “feet to the fire” rhetoric works when I see some evidence of it. Go ahead and pressure him like you all said you would. Please prove me wrong! I would really, honestly, love for you to do so. Please do so! Every day that you wait, about 50 more Americans will die. That’s more than six 9/11’s every year and you could prevent them all by simply making good on your campaign promise.
Some of you reading this are saying, “Yeah? So? What’s that, anyway … single-payer health care?” Well, simply put, its a health care system very similar to the Canadian system. It’s pretty much the same as HR 676, sponsored by John Conyers in Congress and it’s a lot like like the new bill (S.703) put forward by Senator Bernie Sanders. Basically, its new and improved Medicare for all.
Imagine there’s no HMO-style delivery system sitting right smack in the middle of your health care dollar, siphoning off 25-35% of your premium! The savings would be intense, as you might imagine. Imagine also that doctors are able to just treat you without ever having to wonder what level of care your insurance company will allow them to employ. Imagine that there are no forms to fill out and that you can go anywhere you like to seek treatment without any co-pays.
What’s the trick? No trick. I went to school in Canada and have ex-pat relatives who live there and the Canadian system is absolutely amazing. I could relate personal anecdotes all day about how terrible the American health care system can be and how great the Canadian system can be by comparison but, for the moment, lets just stick to the objective part of the equation.
It costs Canadians about $5200 per person for their single-payer health care system and this is about $2700 less per person than we will spend this year, per capita, in the United States. This means that we already spend more than enough to cover everybody. That’s the dirty little secret of corporate health care propaganda. It would actually be cheaper to cover everybody. Canadians also live a full year longer than we do. That’s another dirty little secret. You can do the math.
If, as the Rush Limbaugh crowd would attest, our new president is such a “socialist”, I have to wonder why he is not trumpeting this (seemingly, Communist) conspiracy that would make us all healthy while saving us money? Why are Democratic apologists falling all over each other trying to explain to us about “political feasibility” and achieving “the possible”.
“After all”, they say, “the guy’s only been in office for a few months. Give him a break. He’s got to work on these things one small step at a time.” He is currently advocating a forced HMO plan that would be no more effective or affordable than asking Dow Chemical to grow our food and his party is telling us he has a plan.
You’d think that this guy who just land-slided the election on a campaign of hope and change would be a far better strategist than these apologists are claiming. He just told his supporters that we are in desperate economic straits and that he would need to print several trillion dollars and give it out to people (mostly to people other than those who are actually hurting) and … everyone is actually buying it! They say, “Well, he’s got to do something, right?” Congress debates for about fourteen minutes and then says, “Okay, Barack. We trust you. You got to do what you got to do.”
We all know that Obama is riding a very short wave. It will end soon and now is probably the only time during his first four years that he might be able to approach congress with something this important and actually expect to get it passed. Even so, he’s pulling a Hillary Clinton on us instead and everyone seems to be buying it!
If Obama was really a socially-conscious guy, he would go on TV tomorrow and he would say, “Almost 20,000 Americans are dying every year because they lack access to health care and I can’t stand it anymore! Not on my watch! It’s a crisis and I’m going to fix it. I have a plan and it will save us money and it will also cover everyone. Similar models are being used in dozens of other countries around the world and it would simply be stupid not to follow their lead just because the HMO lobbies tell us we have to.”
But, he’s not going to do this and I don’t actually blame him. I blame you, the Obama voter. It’s your fault. You voted for him and you did so in a safe state where it made no difference at all. I told you he didn’t have a progressive bone in his body and you said, “That’s okay, Matt. We’ll hold his feet to the fire. Look at the movement! Look at all the young people! Look at all the excitement Obama generates.”
I’ll believe the “feet to the fire” rhetoric works when I see some evidence of it. Go ahead and pressure him like you all said you would. Please prove me wrong! I would really, honestly, love for you to do so. Please do so! Every day that you wait, about 50 more Americans will die. That’s more than six 9/11’s every year and you could prevent them all by simply making good on your campaign promise.
Friday, March 27, 2009
The Tax Freedom Challenge
SAT APR 11 7:00 pm Rock Hill Cafe 19 Exchange St. Glens Falls, NY
THE TAX FREEDOM CHALLENGE
Local Veteran and Patriot, David Nicholson, offers us a film (The Truth Behind The Income Tax) which speaks to the legality of collecting income tax in our Republic. Dave will also be offering up a $1,000 reward to anyone who brings proof of an actual law requiring U.S. citizens to pay income tax to the federal government.
THE TAX FREEDOM CHALLENGE
Local Veteran and Patriot, David Nicholson, offers us a film (The Truth Behind The Income Tax) which speaks to the legality of collecting income tax in our Republic. Dave will also be offering up a $1,000 reward to anyone who brings proof of an actual law requiring U.S. citizens to pay income tax to the federal government.
Monday, March 16, 2009
New York Now - IDA Reform
Last week, I had the opportunity to provide an alternative small business perspective on IDA reform at the Legislature. As a result, Susan Arbetter invited me to appear on her program, New York Now, on WMHT (PBS). The link is below but they only post the past week's show so if you want to see it you must do so quickly. Mine is a 4 minute interview to close out the show.
http://www.wmht.org/index.php?s=3
http://www.wmht.org/index.php?s=3
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
My Testimony Before NYS Assembly Chair Sam Hoyt on IDA Reform
Testimony to the Assembly Standing Committee on Local Governments
Public Hearing on Industrial Development Agencies
March 4, 2009
My name is Matt Funiciello. I live in Queensbury, N.Y. and I own and run Rock Hill Bakehouse, a bread bakery in Moreau, New York with a café in Glens Falls. We sell our European breads and biscotti from Manhattan all the way up into the northern Adirondack Park and we regularly employ about 35-40 people. I would like to thank the Committee for this opportunity to “throw my two cents in” where IDA reform is concerned.
I am here today to speak as a small business owner in New York State. I work for a living as do all my employees and we cannot afford a lobby group nor do we participate in the collective efforts of groups like the Chamber of Commerce or the NFIB whose agendas too frequently are tied to that of large businesses like big-box stores and fast food franchises and local manufacturers and not from a place where the best interests of whole communities are the priority.
In this exceedingly poor national economy, it seems that these “small business” lobby groups are not the only ones forgetting their mandate to represent all the people. Our government is racking up record taxpayer debt printing money left and right and handing it out to companies that have never, historically, passed any benefit derived on to their workers or customers.
Bailouts and “stimulus packages” aside, we need to fight these giveaways wherever and whenever possible. It is my feeling that Industrial Development Agencies are an excellent place to start. We need to take a good look at what exactly these groups are doing and how to strengthen oversight and ensure that there is transparency of process.
A great example of the overall ineffectiveness of governmental economic development lies just 15 miles north of here in Malta. New York State has promised Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) a package of benefits that is about 1.2 billion dollars to build a micro-processor plant. I almost feel silly complaining about the much smaller amount given to AMD in sales tax breaks by our local IDA but it certainly seems superfluous (even ridiculous) given the totality of the package. According to a recent article in the Schenectady Gazette, the Saratoga County IDA will be giving what amounts to a 27 million dollar break on sales tax for AMD’s building materials.
Now, let’s think about this for a minute. AMD has lost money three quarters in a row, losing almost as much money as they will be spending to build this new facility. If you were a bank and an entity that is clearly struggling and is clearly not profitable came to you for a loan, what would you do? As a representative of a business that has been steadily struggling to survive for over twenty years, I can tell you what the bank would do.
What if, to compound this company’s undesirability, they are also in direct competition with overseas companies whose costs of production are exceedingly low? Thanks to NAFTA and our ensuing trade agreements, our hard-fought American labor and environmental standards now stand solidly in the way of a company like AMD being competitive against international manufacturers and, to my knowledge, no AMD representative has yet explained how they plan to compete against workers in Asia and India where micro-chips are made for a mere fraction of the cost stateside. What would a bank do?
Now, unlike a bank, our state, facing serious economic times, seems to have left common sense behind and joined hands with the first major player to come along and ask for a handout in a desperate attempt to jump start our economy and create some new jobs. That’s simply not what any responsible business entity would have done. This is far too great a risk and it’s hardly an effective business plan for New York.
The saving grace of such one-sided deals is supposed to be job creation. Our 1.2 billion dollar gift is to be balanced by AMD’s creation of somewhere between 800 and 1465 new jobs in our area. I think that the rare point on which we can all agree (where corporate welfare projects are concerned) is that the development of new jobs is a good thing. But, are all these jobs actually created? Are these always good jobs? Sustainable jobs? When we give IDA breaks to WalMart, what kinds of jobs are we creating? Are these full-time, well-paying jobs or part-time, minimum wage jobs? Many times these “new” jobs are actually just the rehiring of workers whose jobs have been lost when their area’s new WalMart squeezes their employer out. Again, this displacement is hardly a recipe for success by any reasonable measure.
Let’s get out our calculators and do some simple math where AMD is concerned. How much is each of these 800-1465 jobs going to cost us? That’s the simple formula we taxpayers use to determine if a giveaway like this has some merit or amounts to more graft. Now, let’s see … 1.2 billion dollars divided by 800 jobs equals approximately … 1.5 million dollars per job! And, if AMD were able to meet its most recent (higher) estimate of 1465 new jobs, these jobs would drop down to a mere subsidy of $800,000 per job.
Now, you’ll forgive me if, as a business owner, I have to wonder just how good these jobs are going to be? How could anyone with elementary school math skills see this handout as being worth an investment even approaching these amounts?! As a taxpayer, I have to wonder where everyone’s calculators were the day these decisions were made?
Does New York State really feel that these jobs, which might pay, on average, in the low $40,000’s, are actually worth between $800,000 and $1.5 million apiece? If we really do feel that this is the case, can all businesses that have created jobs in the past ten years stand in the same line as AMD and collect our checks for job creation? I think I can speak for the whole small business community in saying that we are more than amenable to bargaining and I’m pretty sure we would ask far less for our services than you’re offering AMD in this instance.
Now, the absolutely incredible amount being offered is the entire package being given to AMD (or the Foundry Company or ATI or whatever you’d like to call them), but we are not here today to talk specifically about that huge amount. We are here instead to discuss IDA reform in our state. How does AMD’s deal tie in to this, mister business owner, you may ask? Well, there’s plenty of IDA money in this deal. It is just so dwarfed by the massive handout package that it easy to forget about it. I simply wanted to preface my remarks about the IDA portion of this contribution with an entire understanding that this company is already getting what most would call an insane amount of support from taxpayers. The IDA money seems to be adding insult to injury. This case makes obvious the need for reform for exactly that reason.
The IDA money being offered in this case is small but, in its own right, it’s still an amount that is pretty hard to justify. That’s exactly why I quoted the whole amount first … so that we can put this whole thing in perspective. The Saratoga County IDA is giving 27 million dollars in sales tax relief to this project. That amounts to about $18,000 - $34,000 per job depending on which of the job projections prove most accurate. The same question applies. Why? And, what jobs could possibly be worth even these lesser amounts given the entirety of the deal the state has handed out?
As a business owner, I have watched for over twenty years as tax money is regularly doled out mostly to the local businesses that seem to need it least. Some of these companies actually seem to exist solely because of the support extended them by the taxpayers through our elected officials.
The AMD case is simple. When you are giving someone 1.2 billion dollars, is it really necessary to rub the taxpayer’s nose in it by taking another 27 million dollars that could go to develop small or sustainable businesses instead? Isn’t that the mandate of the IDA? Why then, do so many projects that involve IDA seem to fail or never meet their forecasted projections for revenue or job creation? There is no end to the number of cases of flagrant abuse by IDA’s across the state. We all know the ones in our own area. AMD is not the only one in mine. There are two more great examples.
Perhaps, the most flagrant abuse of IDA funds in my back yard is the case of the Hudson Falls trash plant in 1991. Now, I know what you’re saying. How could that be a loser? How could anyone lose money by burning garbage and reselling the power it generates to National Grid? Well, to find a case in point, we need look no further than the $86 million in IDA bonds used to build this incinerator in Hudson Falls that was meant to serve Saratoga, Washington, Warren and Essex counties.
Opposition to the plant was loud and articulate and continuous. Now, to a layman like me, this is simple ... burning garbage is frowned upon not only because releasing unknown toxins into the atmosphere, filtered or not, is quite likely unhealthy for the environment. In fact, this is the main reason why it is illegal! But that’s a common sense argument and I am certainly not a corporate scientist trying to justify building a burn plant so I claim no expertise. That said, the studies are still a long way off that will show the cumulative negative impacts of having allowed this project to happen in my backyard so, let’s pretend for a moment that we can’t with any degree of certainty determine that there are increased rates of cancer and water and air pollution in our area as a result of burning garbage. Let’s pretend that there’s no environmental issue here and let’s stick to matters financial in nature (no pun intended).
Critics of the “burn plant” stated loudly and clearly that a garbage incinerator of similar size anywhere else in the country could be built for about 1/3 of the $100 million being floated as necessary. They were ignored and reviled and many of them were even slapped with lawsuits.
Critics also said that there was nowhere near enough garbage being produced in these four counties to allow a burn plant to ever be profitable. They said that it would never be at capacity nor would it be ever be able to meet its job projections. Therefore, they said, it would need constant taxpayer support to survive. As it turns out, these critics were absolutely right. Essex and Saratoga counties refused to play ball and wouldn't sign contracts to use the plant.
According to a recent story in the Glens Falls Post-Star by Blake Jones, Wheeler Foster, the previous operator of the burn plant, regularly saw a $7 million shortfall in revenue which is passed along to “We, the people” (taxpayers). This reporter also wrote that even though last year’s tonnage was a record number, thus far, the trash plant has yet to see a profitable year. The current operator, Wheelabrator, said that in this time of recession it is highly likely that they will see an overall decrease in tonnage next year.
So, in short, everybody knew what a boondoggle this project was except those who were on the Warren/Washington County IDA board at the time. They simply refused to listen to reason and they have cost the taxpayers literally tens of millions of dollars. This lack of common sense and the abundance of ulterior motive to be seen in this case simply beg us to reform the process so that other communities can be spared the kind of pain this entity has wrought.
Another example of abuse in our area is Six Flags. Storytown (aka “The Great Escape”) was purchase by Six Flags in 1994 from its founder, noted philanthropist, Charles R. Wood. He was certainly considered by most to be the very definition of a good neighbor. There is a theater and a hospital wing and a camp for sick children and more than a few museums and charities that owe their very existence to him and his vision of community.
When Six Flags entered the picture, this changed dramatically. For over two years, the theme park collected sales tax only on its admission fee (which it set at a nominal amount, several dollars if memory serves). Its ride fee was tax-free (this amount was over $30). The catch was that you can only collect sales tax this way if the two fees are kept separate and if the admission ticket may be purchased alone. This was not the case. You could only buy the two tickets in concert. By NYS tax code, that makes the whole amount taxable. For two years, the Great Escape only collected pennies when it should have been collecting dollars. It is likely that their little shell game cost Warren County and the state millions of dollars in sales tax revenue.
Eventually, prompted by a very persistent local activist, our state Senator and the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance stepped in to investigate the matter. In the end, they decided not to pursue the sales tax that had gone uncollected and I had to wonder … if I purposely under-collected sales tax for two years on coffee to make my prices seem lower, would the state of New York have forgiven me this transgression as well?
I relate this again as mere background. How does this involve the IDA? Well, my point is that this is a bad neighbor. This is not someone who deserves to be rewarded with taxpayer handouts. Nonetheless, what comes next in my little diatribe is that the Warren County IDA helped this bad neighbor, Six Flags, by using a $1.2 million IDA bond to help Six Flags refinance their mortgage on a brand new water-park! Can you imagine how upset taxpayers are who are paying attention? How could the IDA even consider allowing this corporation to benefit from a taxpayer subsidy? Can you imagine how upset other hotels and parks in the area are that this huge corporation is being given all this free money while the rest of them struggle to survive? Is this fair?
To sum up, based only on the three cases I have outlined, there is an absolutely desperate need to reform the way IDA's function within our state and I urge you to support said reform.
We need to use common sense when handing out IDA assistance and when deciding who gets said support. We need better accountability and more transparency in the process. Without these things, the IDA in New York is just an easy way to funnel taxpayer money into the hands of people who do not truly deserve it.
If we want a stronger and better economy, we do need new jobs but we can’t be so quick to take whatever comes our way. We have to discriminate and we have to set standards for wages and working conditions and the purchase of materials to ensure that the projects in question benefit our state. We need better accountability. If an entity does not meet its agreed job creation goals after receiving an IDA incentive package, there needs to be transparency and enforcement and recourse. Too often, it seems that oversight is lacking and boondoggles like those I’ve referenced are the norm.
Thank you,
Matt Funiciello
Owner / Baker
Rock Hill Bakehouse
Public Hearing on Industrial Development Agencies
March 4, 2009
My name is Matt Funiciello. I live in Queensbury, N.Y. and I own and run Rock Hill Bakehouse, a bread bakery in Moreau, New York with a café in Glens Falls. We sell our European breads and biscotti from Manhattan all the way up into the northern Adirondack Park and we regularly employ about 35-40 people. I would like to thank the Committee for this opportunity to “throw my two cents in” where IDA reform is concerned.
I am here today to speak as a small business owner in New York State. I work for a living as do all my employees and we cannot afford a lobby group nor do we participate in the collective efforts of groups like the Chamber of Commerce or the NFIB whose agendas too frequently are tied to that of large businesses like big-box stores and fast food franchises and local manufacturers and not from a place where the best interests of whole communities are the priority.
In this exceedingly poor national economy, it seems that these “small business” lobby groups are not the only ones forgetting their mandate to represent all the people. Our government is racking up record taxpayer debt printing money left and right and handing it out to companies that have never, historically, passed any benefit derived on to their workers or customers.
Bailouts and “stimulus packages” aside, we need to fight these giveaways wherever and whenever possible. It is my feeling that Industrial Development Agencies are an excellent place to start. We need to take a good look at what exactly these groups are doing and how to strengthen oversight and ensure that there is transparency of process.
A great example of the overall ineffectiveness of governmental economic development lies just 15 miles north of here in Malta. New York State has promised Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) a package of benefits that is about 1.2 billion dollars to build a micro-processor plant. I almost feel silly complaining about the much smaller amount given to AMD in sales tax breaks by our local IDA but it certainly seems superfluous (even ridiculous) given the totality of the package. According to a recent article in the Schenectady Gazette, the Saratoga County IDA will be giving what amounts to a 27 million dollar break on sales tax for AMD’s building materials.
Now, let’s think about this for a minute. AMD has lost money three quarters in a row, losing almost as much money as they will be spending to build this new facility. If you were a bank and an entity that is clearly struggling and is clearly not profitable came to you for a loan, what would you do? As a representative of a business that has been steadily struggling to survive for over twenty years, I can tell you what the bank would do.
What if, to compound this company’s undesirability, they are also in direct competition with overseas companies whose costs of production are exceedingly low? Thanks to NAFTA and our ensuing trade agreements, our hard-fought American labor and environmental standards now stand solidly in the way of a company like AMD being competitive against international manufacturers and, to my knowledge, no AMD representative has yet explained how they plan to compete against workers in Asia and India where micro-chips are made for a mere fraction of the cost stateside. What would a bank do?
Now, unlike a bank, our state, facing serious economic times, seems to have left common sense behind and joined hands with the first major player to come along and ask for a handout in a desperate attempt to jump start our economy and create some new jobs. That’s simply not what any responsible business entity would have done. This is far too great a risk and it’s hardly an effective business plan for New York.
The saving grace of such one-sided deals is supposed to be job creation. Our 1.2 billion dollar gift is to be balanced by AMD’s creation of somewhere between 800 and 1465 new jobs in our area. I think that the rare point on which we can all agree (where corporate welfare projects are concerned) is that the development of new jobs is a good thing. But, are all these jobs actually created? Are these always good jobs? Sustainable jobs? When we give IDA breaks to WalMart, what kinds of jobs are we creating? Are these full-time, well-paying jobs or part-time, minimum wage jobs? Many times these “new” jobs are actually just the rehiring of workers whose jobs have been lost when their area’s new WalMart squeezes their employer out. Again, this displacement is hardly a recipe for success by any reasonable measure.
Let’s get out our calculators and do some simple math where AMD is concerned. How much is each of these 800-1465 jobs going to cost us? That’s the simple formula we taxpayers use to determine if a giveaway like this has some merit or amounts to more graft. Now, let’s see … 1.2 billion dollars divided by 800 jobs equals approximately … 1.5 million dollars per job! And, if AMD were able to meet its most recent (higher) estimate of 1465 new jobs, these jobs would drop down to a mere subsidy of $800,000 per job.
Now, you’ll forgive me if, as a business owner, I have to wonder just how good these jobs are going to be? How could anyone with elementary school math skills see this handout as being worth an investment even approaching these amounts?! As a taxpayer, I have to wonder where everyone’s calculators were the day these decisions were made?
Does New York State really feel that these jobs, which might pay, on average, in the low $40,000’s, are actually worth between $800,000 and $1.5 million apiece? If we really do feel that this is the case, can all businesses that have created jobs in the past ten years stand in the same line as AMD and collect our checks for job creation? I think I can speak for the whole small business community in saying that we are more than amenable to bargaining and I’m pretty sure we would ask far less for our services than you’re offering AMD in this instance.
Now, the absolutely incredible amount being offered is the entire package being given to AMD (or the Foundry Company or ATI or whatever you’d like to call them), but we are not here today to talk specifically about that huge amount. We are here instead to discuss IDA reform in our state. How does AMD’s deal tie in to this, mister business owner, you may ask? Well, there’s plenty of IDA money in this deal. It is just so dwarfed by the massive handout package that it easy to forget about it. I simply wanted to preface my remarks about the IDA portion of this contribution with an entire understanding that this company is already getting what most would call an insane amount of support from taxpayers. The IDA money seems to be adding insult to injury. This case makes obvious the need for reform for exactly that reason.
The IDA money being offered in this case is small but, in its own right, it’s still an amount that is pretty hard to justify. That’s exactly why I quoted the whole amount first … so that we can put this whole thing in perspective. The Saratoga County IDA is giving 27 million dollars in sales tax relief to this project. That amounts to about $18,000 - $34,000 per job depending on which of the job projections prove most accurate. The same question applies. Why? And, what jobs could possibly be worth even these lesser amounts given the entirety of the deal the state has handed out?
As a business owner, I have watched for over twenty years as tax money is regularly doled out mostly to the local businesses that seem to need it least. Some of these companies actually seem to exist solely because of the support extended them by the taxpayers through our elected officials.
The AMD case is simple. When you are giving someone 1.2 billion dollars, is it really necessary to rub the taxpayer’s nose in it by taking another 27 million dollars that could go to develop small or sustainable businesses instead? Isn’t that the mandate of the IDA? Why then, do so many projects that involve IDA seem to fail or never meet their forecasted projections for revenue or job creation? There is no end to the number of cases of flagrant abuse by IDA’s across the state. We all know the ones in our own area. AMD is not the only one in mine. There are two more great examples.
Perhaps, the most flagrant abuse of IDA funds in my back yard is the case of the Hudson Falls trash plant in 1991. Now, I know what you’re saying. How could that be a loser? How could anyone lose money by burning garbage and reselling the power it generates to National Grid? Well, to find a case in point, we need look no further than the $86 million in IDA bonds used to build this incinerator in Hudson Falls that was meant to serve Saratoga, Washington, Warren and Essex counties.
Opposition to the plant was loud and articulate and continuous. Now, to a layman like me, this is simple ... burning garbage is frowned upon not only because releasing unknown toxins into the atmosphere, filtered or not, is quite likely unhealthy for the environment. In fact, this is the main reason why it is illegal! But that’s a common sense argument and I am certainly not a corporate scientist trying to justify building a burn plant so I claim no expertise. That said, the studies are still a long way off that will show the cumulative negative impacts of having allowed this project to happen in my backyard so, let’s pretend for a moment that we can’t with any degree of certainty determine that there are increased rates of cancer and water and air pollution in our area as a result of burning garbage. Let’s pretend that there’s no environmental issue here and let’s stick to matters financial in nature (no pun intended).
Critics of the “burn plant” stated loudly and clearly that a garbage incinerator of similar size anywhere else in the country could be built for about 1/3 of the $100 million being floated as necessary. They were ignored and reviled and many of them were even slapped with lawsuits.
Critics also said that there was nowhere near enough garbage being produced in these four counties to allow a burn plant to ever be profitable. They said that it would never be at capacity nor would it be ever be able to meet its job projections. Therefore, they said, it would need constant taxpayer support to survive. As it turns out, these critics were absolutely right. Essex and Saratoga counties refused to play ball and wouldn't sign contracts to use the plant.
According to a recent story in the Glens Falls Post-Star by Blake Jones, Wheeler Foster, the previous operator of the burn plant, regularly saw a $7 million shortfall in revenue which is passed along to “We, the people” (taxpayers). This reporter also wrote that even though last year’s tonnage was a record number, thus far, the trash plant has yet to see a profitable year. The current operator, Wheelabrator, said that in this time of recession it is highly likely that they will see an overall decrease in tonnage next year.
So, in short, everybody knew what a boondoggle this project was except those who were on the Warren/Washington County IDA board at the time. They simply refused to listen to reason and they have cost the taxpayers literally tens of millions of dollars. This lack of common sense and the abundance of ulterior motive to be seen in this case simply beg us to reform the process so that other communities can be spared the kind of pain this entity has wrought.
Another example of abuse in our area is Six Flags. Storytown (aka “The Great Escape”) was purchase by Six Flags in 1994 from its founder, noted philanthropist, Charles R. Wood. He was certainly considered by most to be the very definition of a good neighbor. There is a theater and a hospital wing and a camp for sick children and more than a few museums and charities that owe their very existence to him and his vision of community.
When Six Flags entered the picture, this changed dramatically. For over two years, the theme park collected sales tax only on its admission fee (which it set at a nominal amount, several dollars if memory serves). Its ride fee was tax-free (this amount was over $30). The catch was that you can only collect sales tax this way if the two fees are kept separate and if the admission ticket may be purchased alone. This was not the case. You could only buy the two tickets in concert. By NYS tax code, that makes the whole amount taxable. For two years, the Great Escape only collected pennies when it should have been collecting dollars. It is likely that their little shell game cost Warren County and the state millions of dollars in sales tax revenue.
Eventually, prompted by a very persistent local activist, our state Senator and the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance stepped in to investigate the matter. In the end, they decided not to pursue the sales tax that had gone uncollected and I had to wonder … if I purposely under-collected sales tax for two years on coffee to make my prices seem lower, would the state of New York have forgiven me this transgression as well?
I relate this again as mere background. How does this involve the IDA? Well, my point is that this is a bad neighbor. This is not someone who deserves to be rewarded with taxpayer handouts. Nonetheless, what comes next in my little diatribe is that the Warren County IDA helped this bad neighbor, Six Flags, by using a $1.2 million IDA bond to help Six Flags refinance their mortgage on a brand new water-park! Can you imagine how upset taxpayers are who are paying attention? How could the IDA even consider allowing this corporation to benefit from a taxpayer subsidy? Can you imagine how upset other hotels and parks in the area are that this huge corporation is being given all this free money while the rest of them struggle to survive? Is this fair?
To sum up, based only on the three cases I have outlined, there is an absolutely desperate need to reform the way IDA's function within our state and I urge you to support said reform.
We need to use common sense when handing out IDA assistance and when deciding who gets said support. We need better accountability and more transparency in the process. Without these things, the IDA in New York is just an easy way to funnel taxpayer money into the hands of people who do not truly deserve it.
If we want a stronger and better economy, we do need new jobs but we can’t be so quick to take whatever comes our way. We have to discriminate and we have to set standards for wages and working conditions and the purchase of materials to ensure that the projects in question benefit our state. We need better accountability. If an entity does not meet its agreed job creation goals after receiving an IDA incentive package, there needs to be transparency and enforcement and recourse. Too often, it seems that oversight is lacking and boondoggles like those I’ve referenced are the norm.
Thank you,
Matt Funiciello
Owner / Baker
Rock Hill Bakehouse
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
I Ran Into Sundwall Today ...
----- Original Message -----
From: Joe Seeman
Cc: Matt Funicello
Sent: 3/3/2009 3:39:32 PM
Subject: I ran into Sundwall today
FYI: I ran into Eric Sundwall, who is trying to get on the ballot to run for the NY 20th congressional district. This was before the Murphy-Tedsico debate in Saratoga, when he approached a group of us rallying outside with Murphy signs.
Sundwall had someone with a camera, and he acted like he was a journalist interviewing us. When asked who he was, he answered that he was from some TV show & didn't mention that he was a candidate until someone pointed that out.
He asked about the Stimulus bill, which he decried as creating a terrible future for our children. He was repeating the Rush Limbaugh extreme right wing rhetoric, and clearly is a right wing extremist on economic issues. When I mentioned the jobs the Stimulus bill will create, he indicated he didn't think government should be creating jobs.
He got quite hostile when he didn't get the answers he wanted, and walked off in a huff.
Dear Joe,
With all due respect, Eric Sundwall and the NYS Libertarian Party DO have a show. It is on Schenectady cable access. It is an all-inclusive third-party political forum
called the "Capitol Outsider". You can check it out at: capitaloutsider.org
Eric is quite frequently the host or reporter for the show.
Also, Rush Limbaugh is not the place from which most anti-pork citizens gain their hatred of government handouts to big business. Though I am a Green, I absolutely share Eric's Libertarian hatred of pork in all its myriad shapes and sizes. We have this in common with all the Dems who fight for IDA reform, the anti-WalMart gang, the anti-bailout crowd, single payer advocates and anyone who owns or runs a business in this state that employs people and pays taxes. You don't have to listen to, or like, or even agree with, Rush Limbaugh to see that handing out hard-earned tax dollars to rich scumbags and thieving welfare developers is a huge mistake.
Like me, Sundwall and many others in this CD, are not Republicans. We are simply in a kind of agreement with them on this one issue. We do not see this "stimulus" as a stimulus. It is nothing more than further pork for the ruling class. We've seen enough! After 8 years of Clinton selling our manufacturing base to China for a dollar. After 8 years of Bush's war and oil pork. After two months of Obama's Wall Street bailout pork, it is simply time to stop this killing of the workers in our country by stealing their futures to feed the ruling class. Enough is enough, already.
More taxpayer money being thrown away to better those who don't need it is not a supportable viewpoint. It is idiocy and just because this time it is YOUR corporate war candidate's idiocy instead of Bush's doesn't make it any better. Simply saying over and over again, "We have to do something" and putting this plan forward doesn't make it any more palatable for those of us who see it for what it is. No jobs or rejuvenation of the stock market will result from this ridiculous package based on even the most sophomoric projections I have seen.
As an aside, I have to ask, how can you support Scott "Blue Dog" Murphy? He is pro-war and you're not. Right?
He also seems to have made his money by oppressing foreign workers (just like everyone else who claims to have made their money in "computers"). Aren't you against slavery and worker oppression?
Politics makes for strange bedfellows but this match makes no sense to me at all.
Peace,
Matt
From: Joe Seeman
Cc: Matt Funicello
Sent: 3/3/2009 3:39:32 PM
Subject: I ran into Sundwall today
FYI: I ran into Eric Sundwall, who is trying to get on the ballot to run for the NY 20th congressional district. This was before the Murphy-Tedsico debate in Saratoga, when he approached a group of us rallying outside with Murphy signs.
Sundwall had someone with a camera, and he acted like he was a journalist interviewing us. When asked who he was, he answered that he was from some TV show & didn't mention that he was a candidate until someone pointed that out.
He asked about the Stimulus bill, which he decried as creating a terrible future for our children. He was repeating the Rush Limbaugh extreme right wing rhetoric, and clearly is a right wing extremist on economic issues. When I mentioned the jobs the Stimulus bill will create, he indicated he didn't think government should be creating jobs.
He got quite hostile when he didn't get the answers he wanted, and walked off in a huff.
Dear Joe,
With all due respect, Eric Sundwall and the NYS Libertarian Party DO have a show. It is on Schenectady cable access. It is an all-inclusive third-party political forum
called the "Capitol Outsider". You can check it out at: capitaloutsider.org
Eric is quite frequently the host or reporter for the show.
Also, Rush Limbaugh is not the place from which most anti-pork citizens gain their hatred of government handouts to big business. Though I am a Green, I absolutely share Eric's Libertarian hatred of pork in all its myriad shapes and sizes. We have this in common with all the Dems who fight for IDA reform, the anti-WalMart gang, the anti-bailout crowd, single payer advocates and anyone who owns or runs a business in this state that employs people and pays taxes. You don't have to listen to, or like, or even agree with, Rush Limbaugh to see that handing out hard-earned tax dollars to rich scumbags and thieving welfare developers is a huge mistake.
Like me, Sundwall and many others in this CD, are not Republicans. We are simply in a kind of agreement with them on this one issue. We do not see this "stimulus" as a stimulus. It is nothing more than further pork for the ruling class. We've seen enough! After 8 years of Clinton selling our manufacturing base to China for a dollar. After 8 years of Bush's war and oil pork. After two months of Obama's Wall Street bailout pork, it is simply time to stop this killing of the workers in our country by stealing their futures to feed the ruling class. Enough is enough, already.
More taxpayer money being thrown away to better those who don't need it is not a supportable viewpoint. It is idiocy and just because this time it is YOUR corporate war candidate's idiocy instead of Bush's doesn't make it any better. Simply saying over and over again, "We have to do something" and putting this plan forward doesn't make it any more palatable for those of us who see it for what it is. No jobs or rejuvenation of the stock market will result from this ridiculous package based on even the most sophomoric projections I have seen.
As an aside, I have to ask, how can you support Scott "Blue Dog" Murphy? He is pro-war and you're not. Right?
He also seems to have made his money by oppressing foreign workers (just like everyone else who claims to have made their money in "computers"). Aren't you against slavery and worker oppression?
Politics makes for strange bedfellows but this match makes no sense to me at all.
Peace,
Matt
Saturday, February 28, 2009
An Easy Way You Can Help Strike a Blow For Independent Politics
Friends,
The people's candidate in this election (the one not running with the two parties but in opposition to them) is Eric Sundwall. He could really use our help getting on the ballot. He needs about 5,000 - 6,000 signatures of registered voters from our congressional district to satisfy the Board Of Elections. This may also allow corporate media to pay a small amount of attention to him. More voices, more choices, right?
Please contact me at mattfuniciello@earthlink.net and I will send his petition pdf file to you ...
Eric is MY candidate. So, even if you do not intend to vote for him, I know that you value our democracy and that its unlikely that you do not want me (or other independent voters) to have our choice represented. In that vein, I am asking you to do me a favor.
1 - Print out one (or more) of the attached ballot petitions.
2 - Have some of your family and friends take five seconds out of their busy day to apply their pen to the paper for you (as long as they vote in CD 20).
3 - Sign it as a witness and be sure that all information is correct. Remember that the two parties will challenge everything on a petition they can get away with.
3 - Mail the ballot to Eric Sundwall immediately and directly at his address listed in Niverville, NY. The deadline is March 6th so mail it by Tuesday just to be sure.
4 - Rest easy in the knowledge that you have just braced the divide between spectator and participant in our "democratic" process and that I, and Eric, thank you!
If you have any questions at all, please feel free to call me at (518) 361-6278.
Sincerely,
Matt
The people's candidate in this election (the one not running with the two parties but in opposition to them) is Eric Sundwall. He could really use our help getting on the ballot. He needs about 5,000 - 6,000 signatures of registered voters from our congressional district to satisfy the Board Of Elections. This may also allow corporate media to pay a small amount of attention to him. More voices, more choices, right?
Please contact me at mattfuniciello@earthlink.net and I will send his petition pdf file to you ...
Eric is MY candidate. So, even if you do not intend to vote for him, I know that you value our democracy and that its unlikely that you do not want me (or other independent voters) to have our choice represented. In that vein, I am asking you to do me a favor.
1 - Print out one (or more) of the attached ballot petitions.
2 - Have some of your family and friends take five seconds out of their busy day to apply their pen to the paper for you (as long as they vote in CD 20).
3 - Sign it as a witness and be sure that all information is correct. Remember that the two parties will challenge everything on a petition they can get away with.
3 - Mail the ballot to Eric Sundwall immediately and directly at his address listed in Niverville, NY. The deadline is March 6th so mail it by Tuesday just to be sure.
4 - Rest easy in the knowledge that you have just braced the divide between spectator and participant in our "democratic" process and that I, and Eric, thank you!
If you have any questions at all, please feel free to call me at (518) 361-6278.
Sincerely,
Matt
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
