10 Reforms to Restore New York

            By every objective standard, our Empire State is, and has been for far too long, ruled by a state government that is, to warp the words of President Lincoln, by, for, and of the politicians, not the people.

            Waiting for Albany to clean up its act is an exercise in futility.  We propose the following ten reforms: 

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. 

                                                                                                            

The Payroll Tax Cut

     The concept recently discussed by Senator McCain and Karl Rove (to sign the two month Pay Roll Tax Cut Extension legislation sent back by the Senate and then immediately pass a full year amendment to that bill, returning it to the Senate for immediate consideration when they return from the holiday recess, reminding all that the President promised that the particulars of the bill would be extended to a full year) deserves  support.

     The Democrat strategy on the payroll tax cut has succeeded: the Republican Party's traditional role as the defender of the people's interest in keeping taxes low has now been falsely supplanted, in the minds of the public, by President Obama.  This one issue could result in the President's reelection and a new Democrat majority in the House.

     While the goals of providing jobs and keeping our fiscal house in order are correct and commendable, the manner in which Congressional Republicans have attempted to achieve them has been a public relations  disaster on several levels.  First and foremost, Americans cannot stand any tax increase at this time.  Second, with the media solidly behind the Democrats, there is no conceivable way to make the case to the public that the two measures should be considered simultaneously.  The end result will be the reelection of the President, and the loss of our majority in the House.

     All the great intentions and brilliant ideas in the world will be useless if the power to enact them is missing.  The GOP Conference has failed to explain to the American People that the actions and behavior of the Senate Majority and the White House has nothing at all to do with "helping the middle class"  "producing jobs" or giving people a real "tax break".   The willingness of most Democrats to block any meaningful reform has been amply demonstrated by the Senate refusal to consider the Wyden- Ryan Medicare bill a thoughtful and workable bi-partisan agreement.  

   The major battle to halt tax increases, produce jobs, and win back the government is being waged now, not next November.  We cannot lose; the nation cannot endure another four years of leftist control.

Obama's Dangerous Failure to Oppose China's Espionage

   

     The Obama Administration has announced plans to reinstitute the same nuclear scientist exchange program that allowed China to steal vital U.S. technological secrets in the past.

     The program had been suspended due to Beijing’s successful espionage efforts.  According to published sources, details of every deployed warhead the U.S. had at the time were transmitted to the Chinese military.

    The Obama administration claims that reviving the discredited and dangerous exchange will bring about transparency of China’s nuclear technology.  However, the prior program provided scant information about Beijing’s efforts, while totally exposing America’s. 

    This latest move is consistent with the White House’s utter failure to respond to China’s vast espionage efforts against America, or to even seriously discuss the historically unprecedented arms buildup that nation has undertaken.  The nature and scope of Beijing’s arms program, particularly its level of cutting-edge technology, clearly indicates that it has one major target in mind: The USA.

    The President’s addiction to deficit spending is the most logical explanation of his reluctance to deal with this major threat.  His dependence on Chinese financing of our national deficit has induced him to trade American security for Beijing’s loans to a Washington government that cannot break it’s overspending habits.

         This latest—and perhaps most dangerous—Obama foreign policy disaster must be stopped. 

  

Obama: Enemy of Middle Class Americans

                In one of the most blatant lies in political history, Obama is basing his re-election bid on his supposed support of middle income Americans. We need to counter this falsehood with facts.

              Thanks to Obama’s policies, the sharp decline of the middle class over the past three years has devastated our nation, and absent a significant change in course, the trend seems destined to continue.     

The statistics are deeply troubling.  Numerous analyses by both independent sources and government agencies alike outline the dilemma:

·       There has been a 26% decline in the net worth of the middle fifth of American households over the past two years.

·       Real median household income plunged 2.3% in 2010 from the year before.

·       The Official unemployment rate during the past three years has skyrocketed to 9% or over, and there is little prospect of that number being reduced anytime soon. That number doesn’t even count “discouraged” workers who have exhausted unemployment benefits or have given up trying to find jobs; that brings the actual unemployment rate to about 16.2%.  Further add to that statistic those who have been forced to work only at part time jobs or for salaries representing a fraction of their former income, and you reach Great Depression levels.  Job seekers now outnumber job openings five to one, the greatest number in the post war era. The number of Americans out of work for more than six months has escalated by more than 3.5 million in the past two years.

Washington has virtually ignored these numbers, and can point to almost no action designed to increase middle income private sector employment.  In fact, even these tragic numbers are masked by the continued strength of public sector employment.  On both the federal and state level, the highly influential public sector unions successfully deploy their influence to protect their interests.  The problem is, absent a strong private jobs market, governments have run out of tax income to pay for public workers and other programs.  That is a key factor in the deficit crisis we now face.

With sharply reduced income and assets, and despite a depressed economy, middle income families over the past few years must contend with increased prices, much of which is the result of Washington’s actions over the past three years.

One of the key root causes for inflation has been the cost of energy. The White House continues to promote policies that create unnecessary shortages, causing prices to ascend ever higher. The federal government has road-blocked the use of domestic assets such as those available in Alaska’s ANWAR, off our southeastern coast in the Caribbean (which is instead being exploited by China) and in numerous other instances.  The President has, for reasons not clearly outlined, delayed until next year a decision on the Keystone pipeline from Canada.  The net effect of all these anti-production policies has been increased energy costs, inflation all around, and further unemployment.  Brazil has lately been the beneficiary of American foreign aid to increase its energy production—energy it is selling to China. Not surprisingly, at our expense, Brazil’s unemployment rate has dropped, even as ours continues at crushing levels.  Americans must be reminded that, before his election, Obama stated that for his energy policies to success, "Prices necessarily must skyrocket."

One impact of the White house’s anti-production energy policies on the middle class can be seen at the grocery store.  The price of food has increased by 4.7% in the past year, and another 4.5% increase is expected in the coming year.  Food staples such as eggs and dairy products have risen over 10%. 

Taken as a whole, Washington’s policies are driving the middle class into poverty and dependence on government programs, programs which eventually will fail due to a lack of resources.

            Bluntly stated, politicians find it easy to secure the loyalty of special interest groups by providing benefits which middle income taxpayers must pay for, through taxes, inflation, and the weakening of  other programs designed for and largely paid by  the classic American family.  Combined with a failure to encourage the growth of private sector employment, these policies will continue to devastate our nation’s middle class.   

              The defeat of Obama and his policies is crucial to restoring middle income Americans to prosperity. 

NAR Calls for Investigation of "Occupy Wall Street" Potential Voter Fraud

                                       Our organization has submitted, via registered mail, the following letter to the New York City Board of Elections:

Juan Carlos Polanco, President

New York City Board of Elections

32 Broadway

New York, New York 10004-1609

    Certified Mail # 7010 3090 0002 9981 8911

Dear Mr. Polanco:

            The integrity of our electoral process is vital. 

             We are deeply concerned that the prolonged “Occupy Wall Street” encampment of politically active individuals may give rise to the opportunity for extensive election registration fraud.  Current practice provides for the registration of homeless individuals using a non-building, street address.

             However, the participants in the “Occupy” encampment are not homeless, and may well be registered elsewhere. Registrations bearing addresses such as Zuccoti Park, Cedar Street, Broadway, 1 Liberty Plaza, or similar non-building addresses entered during the period of the encampment may well be unlawful.

             We request a thorough review of these or any other potentially fraudulent registrations, and the publication of the results of that review.         

                                                                                                                                                                                   Very truly yours,                                                                                                                                                             Frank V. Vernuccio, Jr., J.D.     

Herman Cain

Herman Cain brought a breath of fresh air to the 2012 campaign.  In an era when the end result of  the rule of professional politicians has been the near destruction of the American economy, the introduction of an "outsider" made sense.  His departure was less the result of his personal faults--real or imagined--than the dedication of the left wing press to the utter destruction of any Republican front runner.  The message is clear: we will have to fight a two front war in the 2012 campaign, against both the Democrats and their wholly-owned media.