Fine NYT piece on the growing power of organized labor in Albany -- with a weak governor, historically/familially in labor's corner/pocket, and legislators hungry for campaign cash as they battle for Senate control.
We were struck a few weeks when we saw a guy named Richard Iannuzzi declaring that any attempt to cap property taxes, which might crimp spending on schools, would be "not acceptable," like he runs things. Who's he to say that? He's the head of the state teachers union (left), and he tells the Times:
“Labor is in a good place. The atmosphere in Albany, for a variety of reasons, has been somewhat chaotic and combative, and that’s allowed us to use our ability to be consistent to our advantage. It’s an odd place to be, but we’re adding stability to a confusing situation.”
Good place for who? "Stability" apparently means continuing access to the ordinary taxpayer's wallet: No limits on property taxes to finance spending on schools and their unions, new pension sweeteners, no linking tenure to performance (which Paterson already caved on), paid family leave, securing and improving health and medical benefits for public unions, prevailing wages on non-profits' construction projects.
Paterson, in the story, says the state's finances are such a mess, he's going to stand up to the unions. Today, according to the Daily Politics, he was asked about it again: "This is not the time to sweeten the pot because we're about to lose the whole pot."
We'll see. Have he and his Dad with the labor clients and his Meyer Suozzi lobbying law firm and the state Ethics Commission finished an enforcable conflict of interest plan that they're ready to release to the public, by the way?
Paterson also passed along a striking anecdote:
"When I found out that the 20 largest taxpayers to this state, the 20 banks and corporations that pay the largest amount in state taxes, for the final quarter in 2006 they paid - they paid their money in March 2007 - $533 million into the New York State treasury. Do you know how much they paid this Marhc? $72 million. That's 14 percent of what they paid last year."
Wow.