Vision for New York State: Back to the Future
Throughout the 20th century, NY was one of the most dominant states of the union. Unfortunately, one cannot say the same in the 21st. We have become a microcosm of the afflictions of our great nation. We suffer from ever increasing unemployment, high taxes, crumbling infrastructure, inadequate healthcare, mediocre public education, widespread corruption, continued disintegration of the family structure, and a general malaise we have not seen since the 70’s.
New York was once a major center for trade, finance, education, medicine and industry. Today, unfortunately, New York is known, for high taxes, over regulation, intrusive governance, one of the largest government payrolls, huge welfare benefits, government programs run amok, activist unions and litigious lawyers which all stifle innovation and progress. Ironically, those who call themselves “progressives” are the ones who least contribute to New York’s progress. This is a disease, which I call progressive malaise, since that is the only thing they really accomplish is the progress of malaise. Unfortunately, this disease has already spread throughout the nation with New York and California leading the way.
We have already seen how the heavy burden of higher taxation is driving away our most productive workforce, and that in recent decades New York has suffered major population depletion. While some of that has been replenished it has been mostly with a poorly skilled workforce made up of legal and illegal immigrants as well as those who come here to take advantage of all the wonderful government programs they get for free. The government service industry makes up a sizeable part of the workforce. This cannot be sustained forever. Already we see the heavy burden on an unsustainable state budget as well as NY asking more and more from the federal government for funds that continued to be wasted or stolen.
In order for the state to move forward we need to once again become the leader in innovation and industry. Once we were to assume that role it would lift up all of the other categories, which I mentioned before. In order to accomplish this, we need to attract new industries and companies to New York. Working with the governor, I would get funding and legislation to build on the Empowerment Zones concept which really never took off like it was supposed to in terms of attracting and creating new businesses. Many of the smaller towns and cities are hurting as well as some depressed areas in New York City.
These new empowerment zones would get federal funding to create exciting and new technologies on which we can then create an industry around and then empower those in the area with their own business and jobs. The creation of each one of those jobs would lead to the creation of other jobs. This is very similar to the old company town concept of yesteryear. The mill would open, people would come to work, all of a sudden businesses to support it start sprouting all over the town. Unfortunately, as we have seen over the last 60 years, as the company would close so would the town begin to become deserted. Here, we avoid it so that no one is dependent on any one industry in the town should a company go bankrupt.
While loans would be provided through the SBA, we would also give grants to give those who have never been able to start their own businesses to get started. Instead of distributing these funds through these so-called community organizations (ACORNS anyone?) we would cut the check directly the people. The first fiscal year of the business would be tax-free. Afterward, half of the money that these businesses would pay out in federal taxes would stay in the community to fund other start up businesses and training from a high technology plant to Helen’s Beauty Shop, and so on. Therefore, we start a perpetual positive cycle of true progress for our citizens and reverse the current negative cycle of self-destruction we currently live in.
We are in the 21st century and we need to start thinking like it. For example, here we are throwing good money after bad when we decided to bail out the auto companies. Ladies, and gentlemen we are in the 21st century, why are we still driving cars basically using technology from 100 years ago? We should start looking at the next level of transportation. I would like to see a high-speed monorail service to facilitate transportation throughout the state that would help businesses thrive especially as per my vision or really take advantage of our waterways and develop a new hi-speed ferry service. As I stated earlier, we should look at the next generation of electric cars or a flying vehicle to get us into the air and free us from gravity, which goes beyond getting into a huge plane with 300 other passengers after being hassled by security for an hour which many times kills the advantage of air travel. Just today, I posted a report on an important breakthrough in materials sciences, the holy grail of aluminum had finally been achieved: transparent aluminum! This concept was introduced in a Star Trek movie in the 80’s and yet today it has become a reality. However, don’t hold your breath waiting to go out and buy it because now it will have to go through, government knows or does not know, steps to get approval for manufacture. By that time, some other countries’ spies will have already stolen the formula and started on it and we will still be arguing over some ridiculous piece of regulation holding it up. We must end this way of doing things if we are to ever recapture our place in America and America in the world.
Finally, I would be willing to work in partnership with my fellow US Senator and the major elected officials as well as the President to make this dream a reality. The best way to kick it off would be a World’s Fair in New York State. I was going over the 1939 fair and the 1964 fair, and it is incredible all that was achieved. An event like this would show America and yes the world that NY State is once again open for business and a valid investment for all who want to place their money here!