Voter Declaration of Independence
by Mark Bitz

Let’s Change Our State’s Dysfunctional Government

Prior to the 2004 election, the Republican Senate and Democratic Assembly enthusiastically embraced reform. Yet in the last two years they have done little more than require representatives to be present for votes and enact two on-time budgets. The Republican Senate and Democratic Assembly have not elected new leadership nor effectively distributed power from the Majority Leader and the Speaker to our elected representatives. They have not enacted voter initiative or term limits, nor redrawn the voting districts in a non-partisan manner. They have not limited their borrowing, taxing, and spending, nor made Medicaid sustainable. They have not dealt with education funding inequities nor underperforming schools.

Here's what's wrong with NYS today:

1. During the last 50 years, New York State’s share of U.S. income has declined 37%, while Minnesota’s remained constant, and New Hampshire’s increased 67%.
2. New York State now ranks 45th among the 50 states in population and income growth, and percent of the adult population employed.
3. Although NYS spends the most per pupil for education, our state has the 44th lowest graduation rate.
4. Four out of ten students do not graduate from high school in New York State.
5. Our state has the highest per-capita tax burden of the 50 states, a burden that is 53% over the national average.
6. Per-capita state and local government debt is 76% above the national average.
7. Per-capita state and local government spending is 46% over the national average.
8. State spending increased 13% this year, far faster than revenue growth, and four times the inflation rate.
9. From 2000-2004, New York lost over one million residents to other states, 300,000 more than any other state.

In the 1950’s, New York State was one of the most prosperous places on the planet and the envy of most every state and country in the world. This is clearly no longer the case. Many attribute our state’s poor performance to its climate and the economic rise of the South, Mexico, and China. Yet, Minnesota, farther north and with a harsher climate, thrives.

In New York State, the Senate and Assembly leaders use chair appointments, lulus, member budgets and items, and party resources to control members and the legislation. They draw districts to give a majority of their party members a significant election advantage. They craft legislation to maximize campaign contributions and party resources. They fund community projects with taxpayer dollars so their party’s legislators appear as heroes in local newspapers. Incumbent advantages enable representatives to run without major party opposition in one-third of the races, and have 20 to 100 times more to spend than their opponents in another third of the races.

Partisan voting districts, large campaign war chests, and favorable public relations destroy the link between legislator performance and their re-election. They trick voters into electing incumbents who govern poorly. New York State steadily declines and incumbents enjoy a 99% re-election rate.

The genius of democracy is that all interests are represented and no interest is over-represented. A well-functioning democracy generates superior solutions. When feedback from all of the citizenry enters the mix, creative synergistic solutions that balance the needs of the individual, community, business, and environment emerge. Everyone wins. In contrast, when trial lawyers, public sector unions, and business groups buy legislation via campaign contributions, the legislation transfers resources from one group to another group. The legislation is neither creative nor synergistic, often distorts free market signals, and generally harms our economy.

We all like to believe our representatives are not the problem, and that the problem lies with representatives in other districts. However, our representatives, and all majority party representatives, are the problem. Their continued support of Majority Leader Bruno and Speaker Silver, and their poor governance, costs each of our households thousands of dollars a year.

As inconvenient as it may be to vote, we must vote. As uncomfortable as it may be to cross party lines, we must consistently vote for Senate Democrats and Assembly Republicans until this egregious corruption of our democracy is corrected. By voting for Senate Democrats and Assembly Republicans, we will unseat a few majority party incumbents and cause the remaining to govern more responsibly. Additionally, we may be able to visit our grandchildren in the neighborhood down the street, rather than the neighborhood one thousand miles away!

Visit FreeNYS.org for the sources of the information used in this article and to email a copy of this declaration to all of your friends.

Mark Bitz is President of Plainville Farms. He is author of Creating a Prosperous New York State: Making Elected Officials Accountable for New York State’s Performance Relative to Other States, which is available at Amazon.com.