A Green New Deal for New York

http://www.solidarity-us.org/site/node/4236
Date Written:  2014-09-01
Publisher:  Against the Current
Year Published:  2014
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX20799

The Green Party outlines its revised goals for their campaign plan in the election for governor and lieutenant governor of New York.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

Over the last five years New York lost 400,000 state and local public employees, including 40,000 in the schools. Public school teachers are especially upset with Cuomo for his outspoken support for high-stakes testing linked to Common Core, charter schools, and private education tax credits while underfunding public education.

Cuomo's economic development policy is all trickle-down supply-side tax breaks for big business and rich people, plus casinos in a saturated gaming market. Four decades of policies coddling the rich has left upstate New York a deeply depressed rust belt of former manufacturing cities and towns. In 1980, the richest one percent received 10% of all state income; today it is 35%. And in New York City, the top one percent has grabbed 45% of all income.

While Cuomo says the rich need more money to invest in job creation, his real economic objective seems to be getting them to invest in his campaign. Over 99% of Cuomo’s donations are $1,000 or more, with 81% at $10,000 or more, and 45% contributing $40,000 or more. Cuomo had 715 contributors between January 15 and July 15, 2014. I had 654, just 61 fewer. But his average donation was $7,723, mine was $77. He had $35 million to spend. I had $30,000.

Now that he has carried out his plan for fiscal austerity, we expect a much larger vote from public sector workers. As the gubernatorial candidate, I am a working Teamster. My running mate, Brian Jones, is a union teacher from New York City. We believe we are the ticket attractive to working people, particularly public sector workers fighting against austerity.