(Cross-posted at SLC Republitarian)

New York’s “Governor” Paterson has made it clear, with his proposed $121-billion budget that he’s focused not on New York’s declining economy, but on the fiscal health of the State government. And, as usually happens when you put the cart before the horse, it could spell disaster for both.

Paterson has proposed some budget cuts — not as dramatic as some parties in the news media might suggest, and certainly not dramatic enough — but cuts, nonetheless. There are some good cuts, such as decreasing the benefits and salaries for new state employees and a reduced government workforce (though I’m unsure which state jobs will get the axe; and, given New York’s love affair with bureaucracy, it likely won’t be the ones that should).

Unfortunately, some of those cuts may wind up costing the taxpayer even more money than this budget already does on its face. The $700 million in school aid cuts, for example, while not necessarily a bad thing by itself (if you happen to dislike the Public School system, anyway), may still wind up coming out of taxpayer pockets:

School aid would be cut by an average of 3.3 percent, or nearly $700 million from the current fiscal year, to a total of nearly $21 billion — stoking fears from education officials that local property taxes would need to be increased to make up the difference.

Which is, frankly, a twist of the knife for property owners who, under this new budget, could also lose out on property tax rebates (yup… that program gets cut, too). Which makes you wonder what Monroe County’s Maggie Brooks is smoking:

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, however, praised the governor for a “very reasonable budget” that protects property taxpayers. [Emphasis added]

I’m not generally one to go on tangents mid-blog, but did that remind anyone else of Pravda?

Moving along. Likewise, cuts of aid to hospitals and nursing homes will likely ultimately fall on the taxpayers, in the form of increased cost of service — or increased cost of insurance as those service costs rise.

So, even though the individual taxpayer’s burden will likely stay the same or increase in line with these “cuts,” at least the state is saving money.

To add more heartache to the taxpayer, though, the “governor” has also introduced eighty-eight new or increased taxes and fees. These include the softdrink tax (which I discussed in my last post), new taxes for moviegoers, new taxes for taxis, increased fees for public transportation, a “digital property” tax for music and movie downloads, an elimination of the $.08 tax cap for gasoline, cable and satellite television service taxes, increased taxes on cigars and beer and much, much more.

I shouldn’t have to point out that an increased gasoline tax will increase costs for businesses and cut consumer spending in other areas, and ultimately, likely, cost jobs — not to mention increase the cost of taxis and public transportation over and above what the “governor” is already planning to do through tax and fee increases, which will further strain the resources of metropolitan work forces. I shouldn’t have to mention that softdrink and beer taxes are a tax on the poor and middle class, or that further increasing the price of a movie ticket through higher taxation will keep people out of theaters and likely result in business closings and lost jobs. I shouldn’t have to remind the “governor” that homeowners face hard enough financial times, without the increased burden of higher property taxes.

I shouldn’t have to. But Paterson, evidently, is an idiot. Too bad for us.

I’m starting to think we should change the name of the New York State troopers to “Nanny 911.”

Recent headlines say New York’s dear Governor Paterson would now like to tax soda pop — as long as it isn’t diet.  This so-called “Obesity tax” is, in essence, a scheme to put more money in the State coffers.  And, as Paterson learned back in June of ‘08, with the cigarette tax, this state doesn’t mind the tax so much, so long as it’s unpopular groups of people getting screwed.  Last time, it was smokers.  Today (and, I predict, in the future as well), it’s the curvy.

Of course, Paterson and others will say this is a way to promote good health throughout the state — which is why diet sodas, water, milk, etc. aren’t being taxed.  I’d argue that the only reason the others aren’t being taxed is because then the elites would get pissed off, instead of just us uneducated pop-drinkers.   So, either Paterson is buffering the State funds by targeting particular groups of individuals, or else he’s just another New York Nanny-Stater out to show his dumb constituents the various errors of their ways. 

 Just imagine how intrusive this guy would be had we actually voted for him.  And, friends, let’s try to remember that, when it comes time to vote him out.

In the meantime, before he taxes Chocolate, peppermint or those little candy sprinkles, I think Mr. Paterson (he’s not MY Governor) would benefit from the advice of another, more famous, better-looking and less annoying nanny.

(cross-posted at Society for Independent Thinking)

Though it is not completely without a sense of schadenfreude that I watch the Chicago Democrat party implode, this recent Blagojavich scandle has gotten me thinking about the nature of political corruption in general.  And about the simple fact that, as much as we’d like it to be, the Republican Party is not immune to the corruption of power, any more than the Dems appear to be.

In recent years, voters have seen more than our share of corrupt politicians, engaged in everything from prostitution and sex scandles to buying votes on the senate floor to the pay-for-play antics like those of the Chicago Gov. 

But where does it come from?   Frankly, I believe it comes, primarily, from two places.  First, as the saying goes, “power corrupts.”  You’d have to ask a psychologist about the effects being voted into a position of authority can have on the ego.  But I think we can agree that those effects are certainly evident in many cases.  Secondly, put simply, we the voters allow them to get away with it — often with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, and occasionally, without even that.

Let’s explore this second point first, because I know some readers will have several probelms with the idea that we, the voters, are to blame for party and government leadership not holding politicians accountable.  Do you remember Bill Clinton?  That big, overblown scandal that occurred just because Bubba got some strange in the Oval Office?  People claimed that too big a deal was being made about the President’s extra-marital affairs.  Those merits can be argued (though, personally, I believe our leaders ought to be held to the highest of standards), but to do so misses the point entirely.  The problem wasn’t that he violated the sanctity of the Office, and potentially posed a national security risk by letting his intern go down on him in the National Holy of Holies.  The problem was simply that he broke the law.  He lied under oath.  That is a crime.  It is a small, white-collar crime, but illegal, nonetheless.  But the Gatekeepers of popular opinion (AKA the Mainstream Media), Congressional Democrats and even many voters chose to ignore this simple fact because, after all, he was the most powerful man in the world.  Surely such a small thing shouldn’t take down such a powerful person!

And it is precisely that attitude which allows corruption to flourish in state and national power center coutry-wide.  Those in a position of power should not be held to lower standards than the public, but higher.  Leaders lead.  When they fail to be good leaders, it becomes the duty of the citizen to disqualify them from the role.  And, if it is others in power to whom that duty falls, and they also fail in it, then it is our duty to vote them out as well, in favor of those with a correct view of authority.

The other problem goes back to that quote I mentioned: “Power corrupts.”  True enough.  But there’s that pesky follow-up: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  As more information about Blagojavich comes out, we find people talking about his “instability,” as though this were something about which many of those who helped get him into power already knew.  So why is it that they still worked to install him into the Governor’s chair?  Basically, because he was a Democrat. 

If it is indeed true that “power corrupts,” and that “absolute power corrupts absolutely,” it must also follow that the more power given to a person or entity, the more potential for corruption exists.  In short, the most basic reason corrupt officials keep getting elected is because we don’t have any other options.

The Party system controlling American politics ensures that only a select group are presented to the voters for election, and of that group, only two are actually serious contenders for a given election.  George Washington warned of exactly this circumstance, and has since been poo-pooed by even Conservatives as “out of touch.”  Nonetheless, it is indeed the Party system which denies the voter a real set of options, and continues to make possible the re-election of those who would sell us out for financial gain, those who disrespect the office to which they are called to serve and those to dishoner their country and fellow countrymen by acts unbecoming leaders.

I will go into greater detail on the party system and how it has corrupted American government at a later date.  For now though, we work with what we have. 

And what we have is a dirty system, peopled by dirty politicias.  It is time for a cleansing, in every party.  It is time, if we must deal within a party system, to stop allowing those who disgrace America leadership to continue to do so.  They are not serving us, but themselves, and it is high time they were routed out.  It is time for voters to make it our business to know what our elected officials are up to, what they know and what they do with that information, who they talk to, and what decisions they are making.

It is time to clean house, starting with Blagojavich, and anybody we can take down with him.  And when we’re done with him, it’s time to move on to national politicians.  Get mad, folks.  Get very mad.  And then, get even.