Remember School House Rock? The song, “I’m just a bill?” The cartoon that taught many of us how a bill becomes a law on ABC Saturday mornings? It was easy to understand and it taught us all a lot.
Seeing how some politicians with one-party control act, we could probably use “School House Rock” now to educate them.
For too long, we’ve let our elected officials give us simplistic answers to our problems. They come up with snappy slogans and initiatives that sound great on paper. The problem is, they don’t stand up to the simple scrutiny of a 5th grader.
Most of us know the jargon already. Whenever you hear a politician utter the words “three point plan,” “blue ribbon commission” or a catchy jingle to title a bill, people should run for the hills. Even worse, some of these “do nothing characters” have the gall to announce bills that don’t have a chance of passing and don’t even have a sponsor.
Makes you mad I bet.
Take, for example, the newest big lie coming from Albany. It comes in the form of the New York State property tax cap. Sure, it sounds great on paper. In fact, homeowners would give standing ovations to elected leaders that actually delivered on a promise that was a real tax cap.
Many politicians support it. No argument there. But to pretend it’s coming, well, that’s another story.
A few weeks ago, a big lie was passed in the New York State Senate. After self congratulations were bellowed on the floor of the Senate, the smoke cleared and homeowners were faced with the newest betrayal from elected officials. Senators were acting as if they single handedly defeated the property tax monster. It was a big lie. They got caught. This time, the big lie came courtesy of State Senate Democrats.
Here is what happened. New York State Senators, led by Democratic Conference Leader, Brooklyn’s John Sampson, beat their chests on the floor of the New York State Senate and gave great speeches about their much ballyhooed tax cap.
It was truly a sight to see. Senators were congratulating themselves on this feat. And, even more stunning, this supposed victory was in the shadows of the worst state budget in memory that every news story related to the budget was the fact that there was no money.
Makes you scratch your head and ask what is going on here? What’s newsworthy about this supposed accomplishment? You see, the bill only passed the Senate. It’s going nowhere.
This was the big problem they neglected to tell us about. You see, something is missing, it’s something Senator Sampson should be ashamed of.
Now, “School House Rock” starts to play.
This story does have a magic moment. This time, it came in the form of a splash of cold water that woke everyone up. An upstate Senator from Syracuse, John DeFrancisco, did the unthinkable.
This Senator had guts.
He stood up from his chair, in the ornate State Senate chamber, and finally told the truth. The bill was going nowhere because the Assembly would not only not pass it, but there was no sponsor for the bill.
What happened to the high fives? The “atta boys” being yelled out by the victorious Senate Democrats?
It was all an act performed for the benefit of the public who is in the dark regarding the backroom deals of the elite who have total control of the State Legislature. In this case, it is the Democratic Party. And, the joke was on us.
The Senate Democrats, gnashing their teeth, wiping their sweating brows, moving uncomfortably in their leather chairs, had to admit the truth. Senator DeFrancisco was right.
You see, when politicians like Senator Sampson and his supporters, pass these “one house bill wonders” with no shot of coming law, it’s just another sad chapter in the Albany dysfunction of one party rule with no checks and balances.
The good news is this. The people have caught on.
Rational people wouldn’t have tried to pull the wool over the eyes of the people. Real leaders wouldn’t play with people’s pocketbooks. Character counts with our elected officials. At least Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver tells us from square one if he will support an idea.
This cast of characters thinks if you say it loud enough, long enough and repeat it enough than it makes it true. How sad this is, for the people who have to put up with it.
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