Monday, October 20, 2008

Stemming Population Loss

Election 2008: Candidates share views on population loss . . .

It's amazing how many candidates think that doing more of the same -- training, special programs, special tax breaks -- will produce a different result.

"Alternative and renewable energy has and will continue to be a critical component of our local economy as we work to create more green jobs . . . Our region is home to world-class colleges and universities. We must continue to expand internship opportunities with local businesses . . . We must continue to strengthen job training programs . . . working alongside Mohawk Valley EDGE to help create a shovel-ready site . . ." - Michael Arcuri
Our world-class colleges, job training, renewable energy, EDGE, etc. have not prevented our population loss.
"Legislators should encourage young people to live and work in the Empire State after graduation by . . . defraying the high cost of college tuition through pro-growth incentives that increase the value of our workforce." - David Townsend.
We have plenty of college students in the region without having to defray any costs, and the population continues to drop.
I propose that tax breaks be given to businesses who invest in our youth’s education and provide jobs for them right out of college - Daniel LeClair
The taxpayers already invest too heavily in our youth's education, but this guy wants businesses to do more . . . and then give them a tax break which means that the taxpayers wind up paying even more. How will this stem population loss?
"Three things retain young people – great jobs, great incentives such as student loan breaks or internships and great communities with exciting, active lifestyles. We must build up all three." - Joseph Griffo.
How exciting - not. Just more of the same blather as above.
" . . . we must make certain our colleges and universities are working closely with regional industry and local governments. . . . we must work to revitalize our downtowns and urban centers . . ." - David Valesky
Blather . . .
"A new economic development plan just unveiled by the senate would provide tax credits tied to the creation of new jobs" - James Seward
More of the same . . .
We can build green technologies and produce new forms of energy. With universal high-speed Internet, we can expand markets for local producers. . . . New York state must provide publicly-funded, privately-delivered health insurance.- Don Barber
More "green" nonsense. . . . and publicly funded health insurance? We already have "Child health plus" and the population still drops. How can a dwindling population pay for it?
"I have provided grants over the past year to SUNYIT in Marcy and Utica College to help them build the facilities needed to improve their academic programs. I provided funding to help Mohawk Valley Community College and SUNYIT improve student life through better facilities for sports and extra-curricular activities . . ." - RoAnn Destito
Again, we have plenty of student facilities -- and the students still leave after they graduate.
"I would introduce the YP-Star Program (YP is young professional) that would provide property tax reductions for qualifying young professionals every year until they turned thirty years old." - Kevin McDonald
These kids have been indulged from the moment they were born, but this guy wants the taxpayers - many of whom are living off their savings - to give them more! Scary!
"We need to utilize our own natural resources in developing green, renewable energy" - Daniel Carter
More "green" garbage... but all the green hydropower we already have has not reduced utility rates.

If we keep doing the same stuff, we will get the same results. Only two people "got it right":

"If we are to build a better future than our past, then New York cannot continue to be the most taxed and regulated state in the country." - Richard Hanna (candidate for US Congress running against Mr. Arcuri).
"The Oneida Indian Nation has shown us a fine example of being enterprising when you are not taxed out of existence. The more money people keep for themselves, the better the economy, as more money will be put back into the economy, stimulating growth. . . . Returning money back to the people to spend as they see fit does more than any government-run program can." - Michael Boncella (candidate for State Senate running against Mr. Griffo).
New York is looking like the old Soviet Union, with jobs increasingly with or dependent upon the government. If we want to grow private sector jobs, then government must take less.

11 comments:

pack93rtc said...

The problem, now, like in many areas of government, is that there are entrenched interests COUNTING ON us continuing to do things that don't work. Like "welfare" and the schools, an entire industry has been built up around "job training", "green energy", "targeted tax credits", "economic development zones" and the like. Now that thousands depend on this bunk for their livelihoods, it will be staggeringly difficult to change course, even though it should be obvious after the last THIRTY YEARS that a course change is necessary. Our county government couldn't even muster the will to shut down the convention and visitors bureau.

Anonymous said...

If we want to stem the population loss, what is needed is an increase in teenage pregnancies. If the high school girls can birth babies at a higher rate than their ex-boyfriends can run away, we're golden. In fact, I think the region is almost 90% there!

scm0330 said...

the worst part of your analogy to the soviet union is the apathetic population. "we pretend to work and they pretend to pay us."

Anonymous said...

HANNA!!!

Anonymous said...

Strikeslip: I'm wondering, what is your take on the banking woes happening in places like North Carolina where many CNY and Mohawk Valley young people have fled to? Wachovia is bust and Bank of America is now having a bit of a profit problem. Both are based in Charlotte.

The economies of some of these places where New Yorkers have fled to have got to be taking a hit. Don't you think that some of this out-migration trend is going to start reversing a bit, if only because grown children may be coming home with their families to take advantages of New York's social services?

Anonymous said...

Hanna all the way! I'd rather have him give it a shot at reconstructing our area because what is the alternative? 20 years of Arcuri? I'll leave now...

Anonymous said...

Andrew hit the nail on the head. For every word uttered by a politician, there's about $1,000 behind it, paid for by some lobbyist or special interest group. The word "green" and renewable" are on the market for $4,000 apiece, I hear...

As an aside, most of my relatives fled NYS for that area of North Carolina that NYCO refers. Southern and Southwestern resources and industries are unable to handle to tide of migrating Northeasterners right now, it is true. However, EVERY SINGLE PERSON I have talked to says they will NEVER, EVER return to New York as it is. They'd rather go further west or north, to Virginia, Wisconsin, and Idaho. So maybe that tells you how bad it really is.

Anonymous said...

House for sale - help me find someone dumb enough to live here and I'm leaving. Please help!!

clipper said...

It has become increasingly obvious that ALL political campaigns are being based strictly on what they have to say to suck the voters in. Nobody has addressed any serious issues with anything concrete, or even reasonably feasible to this point.

Both presidential candidates blather on about what they will do. People are obviously ignorant enough to swallow it. Do we not know how the system works, and that the president has very little absolute power, and is controlled in most of his actions by congress? Executive power can be a very scary thing, but it is limited, and neither of them can accomplish these pie in the sky economic plans without the support of congress.

It is called "campaign rhetoric" and it is hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. I myself have already voted early, and voted for McCain. I am a middle of the road conservative, that never votes a straight ticket for either party. I can subscribe to liberal ideas to a certain extent, but Obama leans WAY too far left for me, and his ideas simply scare me to death, along with his history and the allegations focused on his relationship with William Ayers, and his known affiliation with the racist minister, Rev. Wright.

Economic issues HAVE to be addressed, and addressed NOW. I have more faith in experience, even if it is republican experience and more moderate, less radical at this point. The whole world and life as we know it is in flux, and a wrong decision can send us deep into a depression if we are not careful. We CAN'T give government any more power to make us dependent, than they already have. Socialism stinks, and socialism is where we are headed with Obama's slant on the issues.

clipper said...

Have any of us stood up and complained about the money and incentives spent on state and community colleges? They continue to press for more and more money for these institutions, and stress the importance of funding education at the college level. What I see, is government operated public schools, feathering their own nests with OUR tax money, and justifying it with the need to fund education. What we actually end up doing, is paying more and more tax dollars to fund institutions that simply line the pockets of a select few. It simply sucks the money out of your pocket and funnels it into a pocket where politicians can misuse it.

I am old enough to remember when the trend was reversed. Kids of my generation, left the area to attend college and returned to the area to work and raise families. NOW they get their education on MY tax dollars, are educated in the area, and then take that education, paid for partially with my tax dollars through tuition assistance programs, and leave the area on the first flight out.

When I went to school, people paid their own way, through savings, or student loans which they paid back for many years after graduation. Is there something wrong with paying their own way???

Anonymous said...

LOL... Clipper... the problem with children paying their own way... is that the Government won't have a hand in what and how the future of America will be taught! I mean, there are schools that will actually fail or kick your child out if they don't pass "English 101" which is actually "Communism/Socialism 101" under the guise of essay reading and paper compositions. (not all schools, but there are many who do that)

Tax dollars are usually wasted at most small public state colleges. I mean, look at SUNYIT. I thought that was the most awful school I ever had the displeasure of attending or visiting... (It's so bad that even the Scientific Advisory Board strongly advised Rome Labs to 'not hire from local colleges' -AKA SUNY IT- anymore!)

However, a REAL state college like Stony Brook, Albany, or Buffalo have a lot of merit and reputation behind them. But I don't know if tax dollars should be leaned on instead of alumni donations. If SUNY Tech relied on alumni donations, it would have starved to death long ago, and the world would have been a better place... On the other hand, better schools would have better donations from distinguished alumni who had great experiences at well-managed schools. The simplest example of educational evolution.