Think globally, act locally. We live here in New York. It’s time to act. Why? Because we want our children and grandchildren to also be able to make their lives here too if they wish.

But New York State is broke. You know it. I know it. Broke, broken, and in almost total disarray.

Our leaders blame it on the economy. And of course there’s some truth to this.

But the Big Reality is that we’ve been spending way beyond our means for way too many years and it finally caught up. Our “credit card with no limit” state and federal governments are simply trying to manage and accomplish too much. Especially here in New York.

New York would be spending $21 billion less if its budgeted growth over the past decade had been limited to inflation, and $17 billion less if budget increases had tracked New Yorkers’ personal incomes.
Empire Center for NYS Policy, 2009

If New York State had budgeted at the national per capita average in 2008, it would have spent nearly $32 Billion less.
Empire Center for NYS Policy

The Big Problem is that no one is truly doing anything about it. Citizen and business groups and think tanks are unconnected. The voices of reform are unfocused.  The Silent Majority forgives local incumbents come election time. And in Albany it is business as usual: more services, more spending, more taxes and fees, more regulations…in good times and in bad.

No wonder the Brennan Center claims that NYS has the most dysfunctional government in the land! Our recent record would be laughable were it not so painful:

  • Ethical disasters abound.  Governor Spitzer resigned in disgrace.  Governor Paterson should.  U.S. Congressman Massa resigned due to an alleged sex scandal. Two Senators switched then reswitched parties for personal power and aggrandizement.  Reforms such as campaign donation and income sources are bottled up in committee.
  • There is no defined constitutional process to replace a vacant lieutenant governor spot.
  • Bills can’t get passed without the blessings of 2-3 individual legislative leaders.
  • The next state budget is some $8 billion short and certainly won’t be passed on time. We’re facing projected total deficits of $25-30 billion over the next 5 years.
  • The U.S. Census Bureau projects 0% growth in NYS through 2030 and more than 3 million people (net) have moved out since 1990.*
  • NYS ranked 34th in private sector job growth percentage 1997-2007. CEOs rank us the 49th worst state to do business and 48th highest for business costs**
  • Our state and local taxes combined are the 2nd highest in the land—50% above the national average.*
  • NYS Medicaid spending is the absolute highest in the land—about equal to California and Texas combined—and 73% above the national average per recipient.*
  • We owe more money (debt) than any other state, with the 4th highest debt per capita after adjustments (2x the average of the 5 largest states; source New Hampshire Economic Dev ’09)
  • We have more union workers (25%) than any other state (source: AARP)

Sources: *Empire Center for NYS Policy **Public Policy Institute of NYS

Once the “Empire” state, we’ve been reduced to a national joke. It’s embarrassing. But worse, it’s toxic and costly.

Individuals, families and jobs are leaving the state in droves due to penurious taxes, fees, fines, and alarming state regulatory abuses and bureaucracy. (Do you know, for example, that it takes a restaurant about 9 months to obtain a liquor license?)

It’s not just snowy NYS winters driving people away.

What should we do? How shall we take action? Media outlets and citizen groups have proposed respectable ways out of our current state governance woes:

  1. Term limits & ethics reform (These Albany guys aren’t going to censure themselves. In fact—they just didn’t.)
  2. Vote in new representatives (Even if some incumbents get beat it probably won’t change the leadership. Besides, voters tend to re-elect brand names.)
  3. Vote out the legislative leaders (Will it happen? And will the new partisan leaders be any better?  We can’t vote out partisanship.)
  4. Build a strong 3rd party (Longggggggg fuse but a great idea to create decisive swing vote scenarios.)
  5. Form smart commissions and heed their advice (No authority and subject to political winds, will, and whimsy.)
  6. Win the right of voter initiative & referendum (Gotta go through the legislature for this one; not going to happen.)
  7. Wait for 2017 and convince voters to approve a constitutional convention (Hopefully with wise results that voters will approve.)
  8. Win the people an early constitutional convention (The only reasonable citizen opportunity for major governance reform short of waiting for #7.)

Culturally we tend to pin our hopes on charismatic leaders.  Call it the “Lincoln syndrome.”  But these are in short supply, often unreliable, always human, and generally recognizable only through the long lens of history.  We simply don’t see any present hero who can singlehandedly wrest for NY citizens the big reforms required.  We dare say that even FDR or Robert Moses would likely fail in today’s arena.

A People’s Constitutional Convention is the only reasonably available circuit breaker to safeguard this state’s citizens and future. It’s time for the people to speak.  Time to go over Albany’s head.  We can’t afford to wait.  Literally.

How can we make this happen? Learn more about how we can take action here.