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THE FOLLOWING LETTER IS FROM THIS WEEK'S GAZETTE and is re-printed with permission:
To the editor:
Nobody cares what Pete Harckham thinks about eating sandwiches, and that lack of concern is a threat to our democracy.
We do know that Andrew Cuomo has decreed sandwiches to be “the lowest level of substantive food.” In New York State, the whims of Mr. Cuomo have the force of law. So if you have a pint of Captain Lawrence with a panini, you may do so by the grace of Cuomo. But have that same pint with Buffalo Wild Wings and you will have displeased His Lordship.
Those who displease Mr. Cuomo shall feel the full wrath of the sovereign. That power can mean the difference between food on the table or bankruptcy for family businesses across our state.
Should one man have such power?
Back in olden times, we had a legislature. We elected Senators and Assembly members. They met in Albany and made decisions. They were often lazy and corruption occurred with disturbing frequency. But however imperfect our legislative representatives were, they represented the voice and will of the people. That is the nature of democracy: it may not always get things right but we used to consider it better than the alternative.
It is human nature to yearn for Daddy to protect us. Whether it be monsters in the closet or a big spider, Daddy was always there in times of trouble. And we are constantly reminded that we live in “unprecedented times.” Times of death caused by a monster we cannot see (well, unless you have a really powerful microscope).
The stern presence of Daddy Cuomo is reassuring in such times. Some people even have a crush on him: the “Cuomosexual” movement has spawned everything from t-shirts to a re-write of “You’re the One That I Want” from Grease.
Cute memes and YouTube videos are a poor substitute for public policy. We have spent more time pondering Andrew Cuomo’s nipple ring than we have spent discussing the lack of a functioning representative democracy. John Jay and Alexander Hamilton must be spinning in their graves.
Every time is an “unprecedented” time to the extent that it does not precisely duplicate the past. Narcissism and lack of historical knowledge should not blind us to common sense. We have been through wars, natural disasters, riots, economic depressions, viral and biological epidemics, et cetera. As famed New York philosopher Billy Joel put it: “We didn’t start the fire. It was always burning since the world was turning.”
Daddy was great protecting us from those bedroom monsters. I don’t know that the household model can be scaled up to govern a state of 20 million people.
Over the course of two and a half centuries, New York developed a vast system of governmental agencies staffed by professionals. There are so many of them we don’t even know how many there are, but a recent NY Times guesstimate was 131,000 under the Governor’s direct control plus more than 163,000 in various agencies and public authorities.
Today many of those taxpayer-funded employees are superfluous; their decision-making duties now the province of Mr. Cuomo. Ask a government official a question today, and a common response is: “We are waiting for the Governor to tell us.” Even routine matters of state are slow-walked as administrators seek guidance from Cuomo press briefings and leaked anonymous comments from the Governor’s office.
The recent call for “volunteers” to do various jobs ranging from processing unemployment claims to wandering the streets of Astoria at night looking for bars to rat out to the authorities is a disturbing symptom. It may be that the state needs to hire staff at the Labor Department or the State Liquor Authority. It may be that the state needs to shift state employees among agencies. But those are decisions and policy matters which are the province of the Legislature.
Anyone who has been in military service knows that a call for “volunteers” is rarely a call for volunteers. A memo sent out by an agency head or human resources department may be regarded as a call for “volunteers” but a state employee told by their boss that Governor Cuomo wants “volunteers” is a different matter. One of the reasons why we don’t have the Chief Executive micromanage is precisely to avoid even the appearance of impropriety by a political officeholder.
Mr. Cuomo is known for his long memory and holding of grudges. He is also not above using his influence over state agencies such as the Dept. of Financial Services to achieve political goals such as shutting down the speech of unpopular groups such as the National Rifle Association.
Even prior to our “unprecedented times” both state employees and private employers were reluctant to say or do anything which will draw the Governor’s attention. Now that the Governor has powers which have not been seen even in previous times of crisis and war, fear of angering Andrew Cuomo is not irrational.
The ugly truth is that nobody wants to curb the power of Andrew Cuomo, though the reasons differ.
Much of the public yearns for a strongman to save us, while the political leadership of our state (both Democrat and Republican) is wary of having the legislators exercise power. As both chambers have moved leftward, the willingness of Mr. Cuomo to curb the more lunatic and self-destructive impulses of the legislature has become a reason to give even more power to the Executive branch. The problem will only increase given the makeup of the incoming legislators.
I don’t worry much about Mr. Harckham. He is a sane person who has followed a moderate course guided by a pragmatic concern for the long-term welfare of our state. And I do share the concerns about some of the nutcase proposals coming from the NYC contingent.
We have a representative democracy, not a Platonic kingship. No matter how wise Andrew Cuomo is, no matter how foolish the members of the Assembly and Senate are-- the fact remains that we elected Mr. Harckham and Ms. Galef. And for better or worse, our fellow citizens across the state also elected their Senator and Assembly member.
After Ed Koch lost to David Dinkins, he quipped: “The people have spoken, and they must be punished.” Regardless of how much any of us individually believes that Andrew Cuomo makes better decisions than our State Assembly and State Senate, we as a people need to have faith in our system of government.
Pete Harckham needs to give us his opinion of sandwiches. Even if Mr. Cuomo does not ask for his opinion.
--Paul Steinberg, Croton-on-Hudson
loved it!
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