Slaying the New York State Pork Dragon

by SARTRE

 

New York State was once known to the world as the Empire State. After decades of government mismanagement and corporate plunder, the beleaguered taxpayer needs and deserves substantial relief. Pouring public funds into corporate coffers as “gifts” for the honor of having these enterprises conduct their trade is a practice that enriches the few, while sucking the economic life out of impoverished residents. The racket of “Corporate Welfare” gives new meaning to those famous words of General Jack D. Ripper – “A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual, and certainly without any choice”.

This government “” pattern of providing for the defense of crony capitalism is obscene. The insidious rewarding of favorite chums with civic money is steeped, not only in conflicts of interest, but more importantly, breeds a culture of corruption that taints elected officials and bureaucratic facilitators. The insane notion of corporate personhood is used to rationalize a defective economic development policy that results in huge budget deficits with little benefit to state residents.

The “Mother of All Lawsuits”, publically known as the Pork Lawsuit is a significant watershed in restoring constitutional government in a state long known for protecting cartels and campaign contributors. Watch the video – The “” and note that this action was filed back in 2008.

Attorney and columnist forJames Ostrowski is the driving force behind this noble effort to hold state officials constitutionally accountable. The name of his siteis taken from a well-receivedby the same title.

coa_courtroom.jpg

On October 12, 2011, the Pork Lawsuit was argued in NYS highest judicial court of law, the . The first impact gained from the architecturally impressive courthouse is that you are entering a very sober environment immersed in history and privilege. The mere fact that such an august body of jurists heard the serious nature of the Pork Lawsuit pleading bodes well for the merits of the case. The previous Appellate level decision was 5-0 in favor of Mr. Ostrowski’s action. As the legion of corporate lawyers gather together to defend their ill-gotten gain of preferences, the image of a David and Goliath struggle emerges.

Michael Rebmann provides comments, remarks included.

Corporate welfare is banned by the State Constitution: “The money of the state shall not be given or loaned to or in aid of any private corporation…” Art. VII. Like many states, New York got burned by past wasteful corporate welfare and pork barrel projects so we made it illegal. This hasn’t stopped anyone. After all, if you are willing to steal other people’s money, you would also be willing to flaunt the law.

Corporate welfare converts normally feisty business people into gutless toadies to politicians they would never hire at their own firms, and silences them from criticizing the regime or supporting real change lest they be cut off from the subsidies they feel they need in New York’s hostile business climate. That explains why the WNY tax revolt and tea party movements have virtually no support from private business firms above the level of mom and pop shops.

The politicians also love corporate welfare because it gives them a tool to bamboozle the public about how they are supporting economic development. But it’s yet another big lie. How does stealing your money and preventing you from using it to support businesses whose products best fit your needs and wants improve the economy? How does it stimulate economic growth to prevent you from using your money to start and grow your own company, and instead give your money to a company that bought a politician with a campaign donation?

. . . we filed the Pork Lawsuit and we are winning! If we win this appeal, we can shut down billions of dollars in corporate welfare and return that money to the people. How about getting rid of the regressive state gas tax which forces the poor and working class in NY to play the highest gas prices in the country outside of Hawaii? If we win this suit, we will immediately file another one to bar 1000 local governments from giving away our money.

The national implication of this Pork Lawsuit is that most state constitutions have the same gift and loan provisions in their own charter. This language is clear, but the courts need to confirm that banning public subsidies is an essential duty of legitimate government. The An Ill First Wind Hits the Public in the Pocketbook. The First Wind project is a primary focus of the citizen group http://forum.batr.net/showthread.php?tid=1624


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