Reformistas

I've posted a few skeptical comments regarding Spitzer's claim to the reform mantle; my concern is that he has not articulated a very progressive agenda. We've heard some mild comments about an upstate and downstate divide along with some slightly non-Pataki policy changes such as giving medical coverage to children. With regard to the latter initiative, Spitzer's agenda is not even as progressive as the one proposed by California's Governator.

I note the above because the reform touted in The Albany Project and other quarters appears to be focused on simply tossing out the incumbents and replacing them with Spitzer apparatchiks. The assumption being that this new set of legislators would implement the recommendations of the Brennan Report resulting in a more efficient state government. My quarrel with this line of reasoning is that New Yorkers need more than just a rearrangement of the deck chairs on the Titanic.

My concern is that the progressive community has not developed or fully articulated a theory of why our state government became so dysfunctional. Our analysis has not focused on the reason these political arrangements were created. By extension, there has been little if any play given to examining why this political experiment has contributed to the economic inequities borne by most New Yorkers. As a result, the political agenda during Pataki's and now Spitzer's regime continues to ignores our real problem. I'm referring to the changes wrought in the economy of New York over the last thirty years. We have moved from manufacturing to a financial services economy. The result nationally and in our state has been a slow erosion in public sector services and power. At the same time we've institutionalized a class/caste divide in this state that is growing on a daily basis.

In other words, reform in New York should be rooted in progressive policies that turns back our gnawing class gap in favor of policies that restores democratic principles in the marketplace and the ability of the public sector to fight for all New Yorkers. This means that we need to scrutinize and systematically subject Albany's public policy initiatives, be they from the Governor or the Legislature, to analysis from a progressive standpoint. IMO any other reform effort is simply an act of fiddling while Rome burns.