There is a contagious, selective disease that has become an epidemic in Albany. It’s selective because it only affects politicians. Not all politicians, mind you, but it affects enough of them to affect how we live. I have named this disease “Big Money-itis”. It’s an insidious disease that occurs when professional politicians that have made elective office their career goal decides to finance their re-election campaigns with Big Money donors.

This selective disease causes those who are infected to become more concerned with the wishes and needs of big-money donors than the wishes and needs of those who elected them into office. Special interest – corporate interest, really – overrides what is in the best interest of the people of NYS.

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo mentioned this affliction during his State of State Address. He spoke about the “pay to play’ culture, gridlock, corruption – all symptoms of Big Money-itis. Luckily for us, during his State of the State speech Cuomo proposed a solution to Big Money-itis. It will not cure them all (truth be told, some of them like being infected!) but its impact will change the way politics are conducted in Albany.

I’m talking about Voter Owned Elections. I’m talking about Publicly Financed Elections. I’m talking about the people of NYS owning the electoral process which elects their state representative instead of corporation and lobbyist money owning state representatives. If we want to get rid of Big Money-itis in Albany, if we want to change the political process in this state so that any citizen in New York State, regardless of where they come from – whether it is a rural farm in upstate NY or community activist in Greenwich, whether they come from the streets of Buffalo or a bodega in Spanish Harlem – we must get rid of Big Money-itis; so these individuals can actually one day become an elected representatives of the people. Let’s follow the lead of a Governor who got it right on this issue. Let’s pass Public Financing of Elections. Let’s pass Voter Owned Elections. Let’s pass Campaign Finance Reform in New York State – not in 2013, not in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 – let’s pass Public Financing of Election in 2012, let’s pass it now, let’s get rid of Big Money-itis, let’s take back our electoral process in NYS. 26 States have some form of public financing of elections. 16 of those states offer public funds to candidates running for office. Let’s make NYS one of those states.

This issue is so important that every person in this state, regardless of their political beliefs, regardless if they are a Republican or Democrat, regardless in they are a member of a community of color or from the LGBTQ community,, should take action. The people of New York should be in the street marching, on the phones calling, sitting down at a computer writing to their state representatives. We should tell them “look here employee, I pay you some of the best salaries in the nation, give you some of the best benefits and job perks other people could only dream of, I want you to go back to Albany and pass Voter Owned Elections. I want you to fight to make Campaign Finance Reform real. I want you for once to put voter interest above special interest. I want you to show me why I should keep you in office. Show me that you are not afraid of public financing because you know you do your job well. If they don’t do these things, we can only conclude that they are afraid of voter owned elections because they know they have Big Money-itis and they don’t want to be cured.”

I understand we are gathered here today to mourn for a second anniversary of the horrific decision of the Supreme Court to give even more “free speech” money in our political system to corporations. And I understand that for many, this decisions caused the untimely death to our democracy. But I am unwilling to believe that our democracy is truly dead. Here in New York – we have an opportunity to breathe new life into our democracy. Even though we must fight, long term, to overturn Citizens United, to end corporate personhood – we still must also implement a system of public campaign finance reform in order to open up our democracy to everyone. In order to have elected representatives who don’t have to depend on big money but who can run for office, win, and fight for the issues that we know will make positive changes in peoples lives. New life for our democracy and political process could be coming very soon to New York – but not without your help.

With that, I offer each of you a challenge today to help us change the political process in NYS, to help us stop “the business as usual” culture in Albany to help us limit the spread of Big-Money-itis.

Each of you can leave here today determined to tell a friend – to tell two friends – to write a letter or sign on to a letter that we will be sending to the Governor supporting his stance on public financing. Each of you can tell some one else to write a letter or a join a sign-on letter; you can make a phone call; visit a legislator; each of you could leave here today with a mindset that will shake the City of Albany, that will get the attention of the country, because if we change politics in NYS we will send a message that this government of the people, by the people will not be sold out. We are are going to win a system that begins to put people back in the drivers seat – not corporate special interest dollars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_po8j1W9FQ

Click here to see pictures from the event!

Also, check out Knock for the 99%, a door-to-door campaign aiming to fight Governor Cuomo’s and the Legislature’s plan to give millionaires and billionaires a $4.6 billion dollar tax cut.

Consequences of the cuts include larger class sizes and decreased afterschool and extra-curricular opportunities for students, sharp increases in crime rates, crumbling infrastructure, and a slower response to devastating flood damage.

Students, senior citizens, working families, and disabled people have faced draconian cuts. These cuts have led directly to the loss of thousands of jobs. If we stop the tax break for the rich, we can restore the worst of the cuts.

Other local leaders also participated in today’s event, urging for the continuation of the surcharge. Present were New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness Executive Director Ron Deutsch and Christ Church pastor and Troy City Councilwoman-elect Nina Nichols, who operates a soup kitchen out of the church.

“Troy has been particularly hard hit by budget cuts from the state. We just saw the closure of one of our neighborhood elementary schools, and many of our residents are living below the poverty line.The recent flooding and devastation of our downtown infrastructure and the Poestenkill Dam by Tropical Storm Irene only exacerbate the situation. We desperately need help from our state government,” said Nichols.

It was stressed at the meeting that although the surcharge is set to end on December 31, we still have until April to enact legislation. The surcharge will be applied retroactively and no crucial funding will be sacrificed.

“Governor Cuomo has reported that we are facing yet another budget shortfall that will require the Legislature to be called back for a special session. It seems increasingly clear that it isn’t a spending problem we have, but a revenue problem – and the Governor, in refusing to extend the millionaires’ tax, refuses to address the problem,” said Deutsch.

After the event, a delicious lasagna lunch was served.

In the meantime, how about submitting a nomination? The Perry Awards is all about giving proper recognition to those in our community who have shown exemplary leadership, and have put in blood, sweat, and tears into fighting for a better Capital District, New York, and America.

Click here to submit your nomination through our online form.

The deadline for nominations is August 17, 2011.

Here’s some background from last year’s event program:

Jim Perry was a founding member of Citizen Action of the Capital District and a lesbian/gay rights leader both in the Capital District and statewide. His dedication to progressive politics and coalition building paved the way for the passage Albany’s Human Rights Ordinance.

From his first involvement in politics during the 1972 presidential campaign for George McGovern, through his death of AIDS-related complications on Lesbian and Gay Pride Day in 1991, Jim relentlessly fought with passion to turn his progressive ideas into real change.

Jim was instrumental in the merging of the New York State Lesbian and Gay Lobby (of which he was Executive Director for two years) and FAIRPAC (Friends and Advocates of Individuals Rights PAC) to form the Empire State Pride Agenda. He was the president of the Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club from 1985 to 1988.

Jim’s leadership role in progressive politics both in the Capital District and statewide was exemplary.

It is with the memories of his actions and words that Citizen Action of the Capital District presents the annual Jim Perry Progressive Leadership Awards to recipients who have demonstrated a commitment to community activism and leadership.

Click here to submit your nomination now.

(Need a paper form? Click here to download a printable PDF).

For the past three decades, Washington politicians and their benefactors have broken their promises of jobs and economic relief to struggling working families. Instead, they have turned the “American Dream” of health, education and success into an American Nightmare of poverty, foreclosures and a loss of stability and dignity.

Now, they’re coming for our Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, all to pay for more tax cuts for the rich and sweetheart deals for big corporations. The upper one percent of Americans currently control over one third of the private wealth in America, and instead of paying their fair share, they now want to take the programs that we have spent our entire lives working to build. It’s our money and we’re not going to sit back and watch them take it!

Joining our staff, coalition partners, and concerned supporters were President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt and his wife Elanor Roosevelt, who oversaw the implementation of The New Deal, an economic overhaul in the 1930s that stimulated the recovery of the economy after the Great Depression and provided jobs and stability to thousands of working families. Arriving in a stately Studebaker, the elegant couple added an air of prestige and elegance to our caravan.

The Caravan commenced at Kleinhans Music Hall, a world-class venue that was made possible by Roosevelt’s New Deal. It was a fitting location to start off the procession and a testament to the ability of government to provide jobs and security instead of preying upon vulnerable working families.

Many citizens spoke about the need to restore the American Promise. Speakers included elderly people that rely upon essential services in order to pay for medication, disabled parents that rely upon the safety net in order to provide for their children, and concerned adults that have to care for their parents, among many others.

Meeting at 11 different locations across New York State, our Caravan garnered thousands of demonstrators, a myriad of press coverage (click here to read a list of articles) and supporters from different political parties (including Republicans!). America’s true majority came out to express their disbelief at the immense greed required to strip America’s social safety net.

Fracking is a method of gas extraction that involves injecting secret, highly-toxic chemicals deep underground to fracture rock formations. Fracking has been linked to over 1,000 incidents of groundwater contamination across the nation. The process is currently unregulated due to numerous exemptions in federal laws, and is a threat to our public health and environment.

Featuring passionate speakers, a supportive and involved audience, and a heavy press presence, the rally was a resounding success.

The event was co-sponsored by many organizations: Frack Action, Food & Water Watch, Friends of The Earth, Democracy for America, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Center for Health, Environment, & Justice, United for Action, Sane Energy Project, CREDO Action, Damascus Citizens, NYH2O, Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation, The WE Campaign, New York Residents Against Drilling (NYRAD), Capital District Against Fracking (CDAF), Brooklyn Food Coalition, West 80s Neighborhood Association, Coalition for a Livable West Side, Gas Drilling Awareness for Cortland County (GDACC), Shaleshock, No Frack NY, Real Majority Project, Dryden Resource Awareness Coalition, Green Umbrella, Onondaga Creek Conservation Council, Green Bus Tour, New Paltz Climate Action Coalition, The Interfaith Alliance–Long Island Chapter

Despite posting record profits in the past years, and paying no taxes in 2010, Verizon is still trying to give devastating cuts to employee compensation and health care. According to Verizon’s new proposed plan, which begins on August 6, employees will be subjected to massive rollbacks that will seriously compromise employees’ opportunities to provide for their family. The proposed plan doesn’t even provide coverage for emergency room treatment.

Concerned employees and supporters showed up at the Verizon building, blowing whistles in order to “wake up” Verizon and alert them that they wont lay down and take these draconian cuts.

1. “block grant” Medicaid;
2. privatize Medicare by replacing it with vouchers that will result in thousands of dollars in additional out of pocket costs for seniors and the disabled;
3. cut spending by $4.3 trillion over 10 years (two-thirds from low-income programs) but cut taxes by $4.2 trillion, essentially not touching the deficit; and
4. cut vital programs like education, health care and Head Start.

“The economic crisis – and the Wall Street excesses and corporate abuses that drove it – have unfairly jeopardized the livelihoods of ordinary working people,” said Antonella Pechtel, Capital/Hudson Political Director of 1199 SEIU, Fight For A Fair Economy. “Now, during these tough economic times, the last thing we need is further job loss and the slashing of our safety net. Balancing the federal budget on the backs of hard working Americans is not an option. Our members will be mobilizing their community against corporate greed, rallying to creat good paying jobs with benefits and ensuring that everyone pays their fair share.”

An emphatic group of demonstrators, representing Citizen Action of New York, New York State Alliance for Retired Americans, New York State AFL-CIO, 1199 SEIU-Fight for Fair Economy, New York Statewide Senior Action Council, and New York Association on Independent Living made it known that they were not going to sit back and watch their safety net be cut away by corporate greed and excess:

Recent statistics compiled by the Alliance for Quality Education show that Governor Cuomo’s proposed 2% property tax cap will further increase inequalities  between wealthy and poor school districts.  The analysis finds that an already existing $3.2 billion gap between high need and low need school districts in the tax levy will increase by more than $56 million after just one year of an imposed cap and by more than $700 million after ten years.

A gap of this magnitude will have a devastating effect on lower income communities. Tens of thousands of school employees have already lost their jobs and more will continue to be fired. This will result in larger class sizes and compromised educational opportunities for students. Early childhood education will be reduced, compromising a young child’s intellectual development.  Essential afterschool programs – designed in part to keep high-risk kids off the street – will also be eliminated.In addition, the cuts target extracurricular programs such as art, music, and other electives, designed to better round out a student’s education and make him or her more attractive to competitive universities.

The groups highlighted the fact that the 60% supermajority required by current legislation to override the tax cap undermines the principles of majority rule and universal suffrage.

In Massachusetts, where Proposition 2 1/2 (a similar tax cap) has already been passed, low income areas have not been as successful as wealthier communities in securing an override vote. Richer communities are twice as likely to have their override votes approved, and raise an average of four times more money. This has broadened the gap in economically diverse communitiess, resulting in less opportunities and lower achievement levels for poorer school districts. This can be viewed as an indication of things to come in New York if the tax cap is approved.

Present at the press conference:

“The tax cap will increase the existing educational equities based on income, race and zip code because wealthy school districts start out with a huge advantage from having property tax levies that raise 2 to 3 times as much as poor districts.  The idea that it would take 60% of local voters to override a cap undermines the fundamental principle of one person, one vote and will further increase inequity between rich and poor school districts,” said Reverend Cornelius Clark, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

“The 2% tax cap will hurt schools and students–that is undeniable. One of its worst impacts is that it will significantly widen the gap between rich and poor school districts.  New York already has the worst gap between rich and poor school districts.  In addition, the requirement for a 60% vote to override is totally undemocratic, it takes decision-making away from the majority of local voters and imposes Albany’s will,” said Billy Easton, Executive Director, Alliance for Quality Education.

“The only thing that would be capped by this bad bill is the ability of schools to help New York’s children continue to succeed,” said NYSUT Executive Vice President Andrew Pallotta. “This bill risks having our public education system decimated by an undemocratic minority which could — and would — be able to over-ride the wishes of 60 percent of their community. Imagine the vicious reaction that would accompany a proposal to allow 40 percent of the voters to pass a school budget. If that sounds ridiculous, why should we allow 40 percent of the voters to impose a zero percent cap on schools?”

“When the state pushes the responsibility to fund schools off onto local communities and then tries to take away parents’ right to fight for their schools it is like someone is physically holding our kids down in their seats and keeping them back from success. Students are already struggling to get by with less and a cap would mean that even more students would fall through the cracks. We need our elected officials to support our children by not allowing a property tax cap to replace graduation caps,” said Iris Williams, parent, Schenectady, New York Communities for Change.

“Governor Cuomo’s  relentless pursuit of  a tax cap for schools and localities will only make it harder to manage budgets,” said Danny Donohue, President of the 300,000 member CSEA.  “There is no quick fix and it makes no sense to tie the hands of school administrators and local government leaders in providing the essential services that contribute to the quality of life from one end of the state to another.”

“The League of Women Voters of New York State opposes a real property tax cap because it is a very blunt policy instrument that has the potential to harm schools and students without providing tax relief to those most in need.    The only way to provide meaningful tax relief is to tie it to need through a circuit breaker, which would become effective once real property taxes exceed a percentage of income,” said Betsey Swan, President of the League of Women Voters of New York.

“The tax cap is one more fake Albany quick fix,” said Karen Scharff, Executive Director, Citizen Action of New York. “After severely cutting state school funding, and forcing more costs onto local property taxpayers, the Governor and legislature now want to squeeze schools from both directions by capping local taxes. Let’s face reality — the tax cap is a cap on student achievement, especially for the poorest school districts.”

“The tax cap as it is designed is undemocratic and will further erode the public services New Yorkers care about.  Just because the Governor believes the Tax Cap is the answer does not make it so.  We must continue to look for the fairest and most equitable ways to fix our upside down tax system that takes the pressure off of the property tax and places it onto state taxes based on ability to pay so we can fund our schools and local services rather than continuing to shortchange them,” said Ron Deutsch, Executive Director of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness.

According to  Mark Mishler, an Albany public school parent, “This is the harsh lesson New York’s public school children are being taught: forget everything you learned in social studies and civics classes about the responsibility of the entire community to provide for a quality education for all children regardless of race or economic status.  If the tax cap is enacted on top of the just imposed massive cuts in state aid to education, the new lesson will be: if you are fortunate to live in a wealthy district, you’re all set, but if you live in a poor district, forget about having the resources needed to excel in school, to graduate and to go on to college.”