Syndicated Column 5-24-05
Albany shows more signs of cesspool
By Alan Chartock
Fri, May 21, 2004 12:32 pm

Oh, Albany. The whole idea was to locate the state capital far enough away from the denizens of the big city so they couldn’t turn it into a political cesspool. By putting it “upstate,” it would be a safe from the poor, misguided fools who didn’t have the good sense to come from somewhere besides the big city that was the center of the universe. So, they put it in a place they thought would be bucolic and serene and surrounded on all sides by trees and farmland. That would surely bring some sanity to the seat of government.
Well, it hasn’t turned out that way. You’ll find the same sex scandals in Albany that go on in New York City. Things may even be a little worse in Albany, since fornicating in New York is like spitting into the ocean – it doesn’t make much of a difference. But if you get caught doing dirty things in Albany, we are talking big story. I mean, let’s face it, it’s human nature. I can tell my intern students to watch out. Some will listen, some will not. In the current climate, most legislators wouldn’t think of misbehaving, even if their wives and husbands weren’t around. On the other hand, ask any academic what goes on at those big conferences and they will tell you that at least a few professor types, and maybe more, will, as my late mother used to say, “Take advantage of the situation.” That’s why I don’t go any more. The temptations are just too great. Okay, that’s not why I don’t go. I just don’t like them.
Naturally, the media people know what you want – the dirt – and will give it you. In the meantime, kids can’t read, many of our hospitals are in a state of crisis, some of our state authorities are dens of corruption that make a little hanky panky look mild by comparison, the state budget is late yet again, forcing localities to borrow and spend money they don’t have, and at least one senator is out on his behind for taking bribes.
It kills me that people are so, well, human. Why didn’t Martha Stewart just take a minute to consider whether the natural inclination toward greed was worth the risk? She had millions and the potential punishment was so much greater than any reward she might gain by cheating.
Why did the husband of Westchester DA Jeanine Piro cheat on his income tax? Why did a highly successful and beloved Republican state Sen. Guy J. Velella accept bribes? Hey, this was just stupid. Governors and legislators figured out a long time ago how to get rich legally. Just a few days ago, The New York Times ran a huge piece about how the Patakis have become legally rich using “friends” to help them out by hiring Mrs. Pataki and helping to find good investments for the governor. If you can do it legally, why in the world would you tempt the fates and do it illegally? That’s why we have lawyers and accountants.
As an old ward healer, George Washington Plunkitt, was once reported to have said, “There’s honest graft and dishonest graft.” What, you think that Martha Stewart was the first person to use insider information? Are you kidding? That’s the way a good deal of the stock market works.
You think that Guy Velella is the first public official to get rich from his political job? This is New York! This is America. Wake up and smell the herbal tea!
Who gets the contracts? Who payed to play – or pray, as in the case of Pataki’s thousand dollar a table prayer breakfasts? Don’t worry though, our legislators and bureaucrats are on the job, passing bills to drive people crazy and make their jobs even harder. Now the State Health Department wants to put requirements on summer camps that will drive some of them out of business, depriving a lot of poor kids of their chance to be out in the woods for a couple of weeks.
Nope, human nature is alive and well in our state capital. It’s no different than down in the big city, it just looks bigger, like that big fish in the little pond.


- posted by Alan @ 5/27/2004 08:32:00 PM