Thursday, December 25, 2008
How to be Governor Paterson and keep friends – cont’d
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
Life for Governor David Paterson is getting harder, with the pressures of out-of-state –worthies for the appointment of Caroline Kennedy to replace Sen. Clinton. Ted Kennedy, the Senator from MA, is pulling all stops in finding support – labor unions, his own political staff, the US Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid of NV. Fortunately the Governor has until nearly January 20 to let things straighten out, before the appointment.
One cannot but feel concerned about and, actually, sorry for Caroline Kennedy, who looks somewhat timid and speaks verbatim, as though rehearsed, as seen in the few announcements of her Senatorial candidacy noted on TV. She is unwilling to be interviewed, all of the above presenting major difficulties for a reticent person who will have to address individuals and make quid-pro-quo alliances. The little girl in the White House, who lived through the assassinations of her father and her uncle Robert, grew up in relative privacy in New York with her mother and her husband, became herself subject of an IRA car bomb at 18 while an intern studying art at Sotheby’s in London (it blew up the car of her host, a conservative MP, killing a passer-by; she herself was saved by being late for a departure). In 1995 she also experienced the mysterious airplane deaths of her brother JFK Jr., his wife and her sister, as well as other problems that seem to befall the Kennedy family.
Zealously protecting the privacy of her marriage (she is Mrs. Edwin Schlossberg, since 1988, and mother of Rose, 20, Tatiana , 18 and John, 15), she stepped back into limelight with the Obama campaign, undertaken because she felt the reformer’s similarities with her father. She appears to have been drawn into claiming Robert Kennedy’s former Senate seat by Ted Kennedy, the senior Senator from Massachusetts and a revered senior statesman, who has lived down his own histories by 40 years of assiduous liberal advocacies and forming of collaborative efforts with other parties. The reasons for her return to limelight might be a genuine desire for Democratic reform, her personal need for fulfillment at 51, and, most likely, her uncle’s quest for continuation of the Kennedy dynasty, including a shot for the Presidency – since the several politically active cousins’ careers (Kathleen K. Townsend was lieutenant governor to 2002 in MD, Joseph Kennedy II was a Congressman in MA until 1999, Patrick J. Kennedy is a Congressman from RI, and a foreign-born in-law is governor in CA) have heavy default lines.
This power play has overshadowed the other declared experienced candidates with real qualifications for the Clinton seat – our own 74th Assembly District’s strong candidate, Congresswoman Carolyn Mahoney, Kirsten Gillibrand who holds the Congressional seat for the Albany district, Tom Suozzi, Nassau County executive and 2006 candidate for Governor, and capable and experienced Attorney-General Andrew Cuomo, whose position is further complicated by the fact that his ex-wife Kerry Kennedy is an active supporter of Caroline Kennedy.
Meanwhile, work towards recovery is complicated by three Democratic troublemakers, senators who want jobs and concessions (e.g. no gay marriage legislation to be considered) before voting Democratic in choosing a Senate Majority Leader. In 1965 a similar situation led Gov. Rockefeller to ask the Republican senators to vote for a Democrat (it was Joseph Zaretzki) to stop the deadlock, NYTimes tells us. A hint? What would it cost Gov. Paterson to reach such a compromise?
It would cost, lots. As to work towards recovery, Gov. Paterson has to close a $15.4 billion deficit in the $121.1 billion state budget for the balance of the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2009, and the next fiscal year, the largest deficit in the state’s history, due to the shrunken economy and the loss of Wall Street’s contribution. He projects a $9 billion spending cut and increased taxes. New York City will be hurt the most, through a loss of $600 million general purpose aid, plus a large portion of the state’s $700 million in education aid, and will require increased SUNY and CUNY tuitions. Projected cuts in aid for health care providers alone will be $1.1 billion. Other areas of cuts include closing 13 prison camps, eliminating property-tax rebate checks, and merging some seven small state agencies.
Tax increases include 18% levy on sugary soft drinks, 5% on car rentals, doubling and more of taxes on alcoholic drinks, upping the tax revenue on gas, cable and satellite TV service, cigars, licenses for barbers and other cosmetologists and more small businesses – and an i-tax on downloads!
As expected, unions and hospitals and the Republican Majority leader find the education and health cost reductions excessive, and the tax increases harsh. Only Sheldon Silver, the Assembly Speaker, pointing out that education and health constitute half of the budget, has asked the constituency to face the facts that these are the areas where savings need be taken. More anon.
Wally Dobelis and the T&V staff wish all our reader families Happy Holidays and good health.
Life for Governor David Paterson is getting harder, with the pressures of out-of-state –worthies for the appointment of Caroline Kennedy to replace Sen. Clinton. Ted Kennedy, the Senator from MA, is pulling all stops in finding support – labor unions, his own political staff, the US Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid of NV. Fortunately the Governor has until nearly January 20 to let things straighten out, before the appointment.
One cannot but feel concerned about and, actually, sorry for Caroline Kennedy, who looks somewhat timid and speaks verbatim, as though rehearsed, as seen in the few announcements of her Senatorial candidacy noted on TV. She is unwilling to be interviewed, all of the above presenting major difficulties for a reticent person who will have to address individuals and make quid-pro-quo alliances. The little girl in the White House, who lived through the assassinations of her father and her uncle Robert, grew up in relative privacy in New York with her mother and her husband, became herself subject of an IRA car bomb at 18 while an intern studying art at Sotheby’s in London (it blew up the car of her host, a conservative MP, killing a passer-by; she herself was saved by being late for a departure). In 1995 she also experienced the mysterious airplane deaths of her brother JFK Jr., his wife and her sister, as well as other problems that seem to befall the Kennedy family.
Zealously protecting the privacy of her marriage (she is Mrs. Edwin Schlossberg, since 1988, and mother of Rose, 20, Tatiana , 18 and John, 15), she stepped back into limelight with the Obama campaign, undertaken because she felt the reformer’s similarities with her father. She appears to have been drawn into claiming Robert Kennedy’s former Senate seat by Ted Kennedy, the senior Senator from Massachusetts and a revered senior statesman, who has lived down his own histories by 40 years of assiduous liberal advocacies and forming of collaborative efforts with other parties. The reasons for her return to limelight might be a genuine desire for Democratic reform, her personal need for fulfillment at 51, and, most likely, her uncle’s quest for continuation of the Kennedy dynasty, including a shot for the Presidency – since the several politically active cousins’ careers (Kathleen K. Townsend was lieutenant governor to 2002 in MD, Joseph Kennedy II was a Congressman in MA until 1999, Patrick J. Kennedy is a Congressman from RI, and a foreign-born in-law is governor in CA) have heavy default lines.
This power play has overshadowed the other declared experienced candidates with real qualifications for the Clinton seat – our own 74th Assembly District’s strong candidate, Congresswoman Carolyn Mahoney, Kirsten Gillibrand who holds the Congressional seat for the Albany district, Tom Suozzi, Nassau County executive and 2006 candidate for Governor, and capable and experienced Attorney-General Andrew Cuomo, whose position is further complicated by the fact that his ex-wife Kerry Kennedy is an active supporter of Caroline Kennedy.
Meanwhile, work towards recovery is complicated by three Democratic troublemakers, senators who want jobs and concessions (e.g. no gay marriage legislation to be considered) before voting Democratic in choosing a Senate Majority Leader. In 1965 a similar situation led Gov. Rockefeller to ask the Republican senators to vote for a Democrat (it was Joseph Zaretzki) to stop the deadlock, NYTimes tells us. A hint? What would it cost Gov. Paterson to reach such a compromise?
It would cost, lots. As to work towards recovery, Gov. Paterson has to close a $15.4 billion deficit in the $121.1 billion state budget for the balance of the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2009, and the next fiscal year, the largest deficit in the state’s history, due to the shrunken economy and the loss of Wall Street’s contribution. He projects a $9 billion spending cut and increased taxes. New York City will be hurt the most, through a loss of $600 million general purpose aid, plus a large portion of the state’s $700 million in education aid, and will require increased SUNY and CUNY tuitions. Projected cuts in aid for health care providers alone will be $1.1 billion. Other areas of cuts include closing 13 prison camps, eliminating property-tax rebate checks, and merging some seven small state agencies.
Tax increases include 18% levy on sugary soft drinks, 5% on car rentals, doubling and more of taxes on alcoholic drinks, upping the tax revenue on gas, cable and satellite TV service, cigars, licenses for barbers and other cosmetologists and more small businesses – and an i-tax on downloads!
As expected, unions and hospitals and the Republican Majority leader find the education and health cost reductions excessive, and the tax increases harsh. Only Sheldon Silver, the Assembly Speaker, pointing out that education and health constitute half of the budget, has asked the constituency to face the facts that these are the areas where savings need be taken. More anon.
Wally Dobelis and the T&V staff wish all our reader families Happy Holidays and good health.
Labels: David Paterson
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 9:56 PM 
