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Front-Runners Mum
Posted by CN Staff on October 13, 2002 at 23:10:21 PT
By Jordan Rau, Albany Bureau Chief
Source: Newsday 
In New York's first gubernatorial debate in 12 years with the incumbent participating, Republican Gov. George Pataki and Democrat H. Carl McCall yesterday demurred from volunteering any concrete prescriptions to alleviate the state's impending financial crisis.Pataki's and McCall's repeated embrace of indistinct answers in the televised debate left it to the five minor party candidates to offer an array of plainly stated alternatives to address a gap anticipated to be as much as a tenth of the state's $90 billion budget next year.
Pataki had refused to participate in the debate, sponsored by the Daily News and WABC-TV, unless it included every candidate on the Nov. 5 ballot. The governor's strategy succeeded in limiting his two principal challengers to less than 15 minutes of airtime each in the 90-minute debate. A second debate, also involving all seven candidates, is scheduled next Sunday in Syracuse.But the third-party candidates, instead of dwelling solely on their narrow agendas, which included banning abortions and legalizing medical marijuana, offered some of the more precise suggestions of the day. Libertarian candidate Scott Jeffrey proposed abolishing taxpayer subsidies to corporations; Green candidate Stanley Aronowitz advocated an income tax surcharge on the wealthy; and Marijuana Reform candidate Thomas Leighton said, perhaps unsurprisingly, that a tax on legalized marijuana would be very fruitful for the state's depleted coffers.By contrast, McCall, who as state comptroller is much more knowledgeable about New York's financial situation, did not provide three unambiguous ways to reduce the state's financial burden, as one questioner, Daily News reporter Joel Siegel, had asked. McCall replied: "We don't cut our way out of it, we don't tax our way out of it, we've got to get New York's economy moving and I've outlined a detailed plan for improving the economy of New York State."Pataki was no more committal, saying a bit later: "We're going to have to reduce again and control the size of state government. Next year we're going to have to continue to have tough fiscal policies." The governor pointed out that he had been successful in erasing a $5 billion budget gap in 1995. But he did not mention the unpopular solutions he offered back then -- some of which became law -- that included slashing state subsidies to New York City's subways and buses, getting rid of 5 percent of the state's work force and chopping financial aid to SUNY and CUNY on a scale to require tuition increases of $750 a year.Instead, Pataki said a Metropolitan Transportation Authority fare increase could be avoided painlessly by "improvements" in service and a new effort to "restructure and reorganize the Metropolitan Transportation Authority." McCall offered an equally vague answer that he would use "my management skills that I've derived from the public and private sector" to "reduce the costs and at the same time improve the service."Independence Party candidate Tom Golisano was more blunt: "I will do everything in my power not to raise fares. I can't make a guarantee like that, I don't think anyone can."The governor preferred to reiterate his past achievements rather than examine the state's future in any detail. For instance, he sidestepped a question asking why voters should believe he would be able to follow through on his unfulfilled pledges to loosen the state's Rockefeller-era drug laws, tighten campaign finance laws and enact legislation protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination. Instead, Pataki noted his past successes in expanding health care, punishing criminals more severely and giving New York City's mayor control of city schools. Pataki did state that he supported banning smoking in all public places.McCall, in answering a question about what to do with the World Trade Center site, talked broadly about a memorial and a "cultural site" but said he would "put in place a first-class group of people who have experience in terms of building and design" and "empower those people to make decisions to get this plan moving." In contrast, Right to Life candidate Gerard Cronin simply proposed an eternal flame and a memorial listing the names of all who died.Overall, the format precluded any direct debating with perhaps one exception: after Leighton said marijuana smokers would be willing to pay more in taxes for legalization, Jeffrey, the Libertarian, retorted: "I'm a pot smoker who does not want to pay more taxes." Note: Pataki, McCall vague on budget, unlike 3rd-party debaters.Source: Newsday (NY)Author: Jordan Rau, Albany Bureau ChiefPublished: October 14, 2002Copyright: 2002 Newsday Inc.Contact: letters newsday.comWebsite: http://www.newsday.com/Related Articles & Web Site: Vote Jeffreyhttp://www.votejeffrey.com/Marijuana Reform Party of N.Y.http://www.marijuanareform.org/Debate's Lighter Moments http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14444.shtmlPataki Agrees to Debate, but on a Crowded Stagehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14438.shtmlCandidate Fires Up Campaign for Pot Use http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14243.shtml 
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on October 14, 2002 at 06:04:03 PT
Very Revealing
Even though the author starts out by ridiculing 3rd Party candidates with and "their narrow agendas" (do the Libertarian and Green candidates have narrow agendas?), he finally brings himself to criticize the ruling Republicrats."By contrast, McCall, who as state comptroller is much more knowledgeable about New York's financial situation, did not provide three unambiguous ways to reduce the state's financial burden, as one questioner, Daily News reporter Joel Siegel, had asked. McCall replied: "We don't cut our way out of it, we don't tax our way out of it, we've got to get New York's economy moving and I've outlined a detailed plan for improving the economy of New York State."We're in a very interesting time for American government right now, particularly drug policy. The government grew, and grew, and grew, AND grew, for the last 10 years as the economy expanded and tax revenue shot up. Now, as the economy grinds to halt, the taxpayers are in for a rude awakening: The ruling Republicrat regime is INCAPABLE of reducing itself in size or scope in ANY way. These pols dance around the issue, the truth is that they won't make ANY significant cutbacks, mergers, consolidations, or eliminations of government departments and activities. In my state, almost all the cuts are in health and human services - they're kicking a bunch of poor people off health care, taking away their social workers, and cutting education and environmental protection. The Republicrats will do what they've done since the seized control in the 30's - RAISE TAXES. Every time the economic cycle bottoms out and they're called to task for the government excesses of the previous 10 years, that's been their answer.Despite the relentless stream of propaganda about the evils of drugs, the drug war is really just another wasteful government program that won't be cut or reduced. So everyone in private sector gets laid off, or a pay cut, or half their department is laid off so they're doing twice as much work. Meanwhile, they have to pay even MORE taxes for the government to continue it's relentless expansion. They claim America is all about The Family, and The Children. But now both parents have to work and barely ever even see their kids!Why is marijuana still illegal? The only answer you'll ever need is right here in this article. Legalization would mean taking HUGE amounts of tax money AWAY from the ruling government class. Less money for cops, prosecutors, jails, jail-builders, probation clerks, baliffs, government janitors and building contractors, and less budget for politicians to wield.This is why I feel drug policy reform should focus FIRST on legal cannabis, not treatment for hard drugs. The demographics are now there for legalization in many states, the people are ready to support it. Strike the government beast at its heart: take away thousands of arrests. Take away government control of 76 million "criminals". Without any ambiguity, take away the government's illegitimate control over a huge chunk of the population. I believe this will be like pulling the lynchpin out of the foundation of the WOD. When marijuana is legal, people will see with their own eyes indisputably that the government was lying about everything. I think the rest of the WOD will come crashing down pretty quickly at that point. 
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