by Clayton Bradt
Today's post is from our newest contributor. He's a bit “free range” in that his writing is not necessarily written specifically for the Union Legion. However, he gave us permission to edit and post his writings and this is, currently, the only place you'll be able to read them unless you are fortunate enough to share a mailing list with him or he sends you something directly. --EvV
All of the Commission members will be politically connected hacks. Splitting the membership between the "two major parties" accomplishes nothing. Leaving aside the fact that this completely marginalizes the many other political parties, we need to recognize that the New York State kleptocracy is run by a syndicate of political “crime families” who have divvied up the spoils of government (patronage jobs and vendor contracts) so that each family gets its agreed-upon share of the loot. Minor power shifts within and between the families (Democrats and Republicans) make no real difference in the total "take" from the public treasury, just a difference in the cut each family gets.
When for example, when there is a Democrat in the Governor's Mansion, a few more patronage slots go to Democrat hacks, but the Republican Senate stills gets its somewhat smaller cut, and the Democrat Assembly gets theirs. Nothing changes but the names [or the letter after their name – EvV] of the people stealing our money.
If we are ever to make an effectual change in the way New York State government operates, oversight must be taken out of the hands that are already in the cookie jar! A Public Employee Free Speech Act would be a major step toward true ethics reform. Political crimes (waste, fraud and abuse) are designed to be hidden. Only by keeping their dealings secret can our political rulers get away with their crimes. As brazen as the abuses may be, the perpetrators are confident they can get away with them because they are legally able to intimidate the witnesses to these crimes: public employees. Retaliation against public employees who report or merely witness wrong-doing in government, is routine and is an accepted business practice in every branch and agency of government. If public employees were no longer afraid to say what they know, the kleptocrats would no longer be assured of keeping their wrong-doing hidden. Not only would current crimes be uncovered, but future crimes would be inhibited by the knowledge of certain discovery by the would-be perpetrators.
Today's post is from our newest contributor. He's a bit “free range” in that his writing is not necessarily written specifically for the Union Legion. However, he gave us permission to edit and post his writings and this is, currently, the only place you'll be able to read them unless you are fortunate enough to share a mailing list with him or he sends you something directly. --EvV
All of the Commission members will be politically connected hacks. Splitting the membership between the "two major parties" accomplishes nothing. Leaving aside the fact that this completely marginalizes the many other political parties, we need to recognize that the New York State kleptocracy is run by a syndicate of political “crime families” who have divvied up the spoils of government (patronage jobs and vendor contracts) so that each family gets its agreed-upon share of the loot. Minor power shifts within and between the families (Democrats and Republicans) make no real difference in the total "take" from the public treasury, just a difference in the cut each family gets.When for example, when there is a Democrat in the Governor's Mansion, a few more patronage slots go to Democrat hacks, but the Republican Senate stills gets its somewhat smaller cut, and the Democrat Assembly gets theirs. Nothing changes but the names [or the letter after their name – EvV] of the people stealing our money.
If we are ever to make an effectual change in the way New York State government operates, oversight must be taken out of the hands that are already in the cookie jar! A Public Employee Free Speech Act would be a major step toward true ethics reform. Political crimes (waste, fraud and abuse) are designed to be hidden. Only by keeping their dealings secret can our political rulers get away with their crimes. As brazen as the abuses may be, the perpetrators are confident they can get away with them because they are legally able to intimidate the witnesses to these crimes: public employees. Retaliation against public employees who report or merely witness wrong-doing in government, is routine and is an accepted business practice in every branch and agency of government. If public employees were no longer afraid to say what they know, the kleptocrats would no longer be assured of keeping their wrong-doing hidden. Not only would current crimes be uncovered, but future crimes would be inhibited by the knowledge of certain discovery by the would-be perpetrators.
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