How to Transform Society

The world is in a state of crisis. Warfare, epidemic, economic disaster, and impending climate catastrophe pose existential threats to societies around the globe. Something must be done. For too long, the people of this planet have waited for our political leaders to solve our problems for us. Now is the time for us to take matters into our own hands, to empower ourselves to make the necessary changes. 

To ask an age old question: what is to be done?

First, we must create alternative instituions in order to recreate society. Banks must be replaced by credit unions, supermarkets by farmers' markets. Workers' and consumers' cooperatives must replace the corporate model. Neighborhood and tenants' associations must be established. Political parties that represent our interests, not those of the corporate oligarchy, must be built. Students' unions must be created in schools to raise the voices of our young people. Creating these institutions will empower us to take further, more fundamentally transformative actions.

Among these would be to take control of existing institutions through the democratic process. I do not mean the US Congress or the White House, at least in the near-term. More immediately, we must win back those bodies closest to the people: school boards, city councils, town boards, and eventually state legislatures. From here we can enact direct changes in our own communities, instead of operating according to the directives of corporate party officials. Processes like participatory budgeting would empower people and encourage them to partake in the new civic process. We must break the cycle of cynicism that has justifiably gripped the people.

The ultimate step would be to overtake the entirety of the government of our country. This would allow for us to finally dismantle those institutions that serve only the corporate interest. From there we can implement policies both domestically and internationally to redistribute power back to the people. This, however, is a very final step, and can only be achieved once popular institutions have been established and lower entities controlled. This is governing from below, a nonviolent revolution that must realize the limitations as well as the values of the ballot box. In essence, we must "overgrow the government", not overthrow it. Only then can a truly participatory economic and political democracy be established.

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A New York State of Politics

Today's revelations by the New York Times regarding Governor Andrew Cuomo's interference with the Moreland Commission is not exactly surprising, but it has the potential to shake up the campaign for his reelection. As of now, this report can only strengthen the candidacies of Cuomo's three main challengers: Zephyr Teachout, who is running against Cuomo in the Democratic primary; Rob Astorino, the nominee of the Republican and Conservative parties; and Howie Hawkins, the Green Party nominee. All three campaigns issued statements earlier today condemning the Administration's actions, and Teachout is circulating a petition calling on Cuomo to resign.

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'No Love Lost' Between Greens, WFP

A source with knowledge of the situation does not believe that the Working Families' Party will cross-endorse Howie Hawkins, the Green Party nominee for governor this year.

The source states that there is "no love lost" between the two parties.

Many on the left in New York, including the Greens, view the Working Families' Party as having 'sold out' progressives in years past for having endorsed Democratic Party candidates. The WFP ran Andrew Cuomo on their line for governor in 2010.

The source does say, however, that Hawkins himself, who was nominated in Troy on Saturday, expressed no "ill will" for the Working Families' Party.

Speculation has raged as to who the WFP would nominate since last month. In April, a Siena College poll showed an unnamed Working Families' Party candidate drawing 24% in a three-way race featuring Cuomo and Republican Party nominee Rob Astorino. Astorino also drew 24%, while Cuomo led with 39%. In addition to putting pressure on Cuomo from the left this year, the WFP has hopes of gaining 'Row B' on the ballot for future elections. This more prominent position could come if the WFP placed second in the election for governor.

Despite this apparent cause for optimism, the Working Families' Party is actually in a rather difficult predicament. Running their own candidate would likely split the vote on the left between the WFP and the Green Party. In addition, some unions have already stated that they may unilaterally endorse Cuomo even if the WFP (a labor-backed party) does not. An endorsement of Cuomo by the WFP would most definitely draw further ire from the left.

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Dystopia in the the Present Tense

A state of perpetual warfare. Armed forces occupying foreign territory for over seventy years. Active combat ongoing for more than thirteen.

An ubiquitous surveillance state. Continuous monitoring of communications using advanced technology. Exposers of the truth persistently pursued and prosecuted.

A police state. Local units equipped with military hardware. Prisons overwhelmed with disproptionately minority populations. Inmates regularly murdered, with applause from the public.

An oligarchic state. Corporate elites manipulate "elected" government officials for their own profit. Massive inequality in the distribution of wealth.

An impoverished state. Millions of citizens struggling to scrape by from day to day. Crime and drug use rampant in major metropolitan areas.

A fundamentalist state. Fanatical religious doctrine permeates through systems of healthcare and education.

An anti-intellectual state. Scientific findings and medical breakthroughs routinely rejected by vast swaths of society.

A propaganda state. Mass media breathessly conveys "news" passed down from the elite masters, filling the remainder of their programming with "infotainment".

A rapidly degrading state. Prolonged pollution of the atmosphere by corporate elites produces climate threat to future existence of human race.

This is not a scene from a George Orwell novel. This is a description of the United States in 2014.

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Political Trends and Party Polarization in the United States

The following is a brief exploration of the major political trends in the United States from the 1960s to the present day. This commentary will explore the changing political coalitions within American society. It will also explore the role this process has had in the “re-polarization” of the American political process.

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People of Albany United for Safe Energy

PAUSE is a grassroots group of individuals who have come together to promote safe, sustainable energy and fight for environmental justice. We engage the greater public to stop the fossil fuel industry’s assault on the people of Albany and our environment.  Our work reaches out to people and groups around the globe who strive for an end to the ruinous fossil fuel economy and to replace it with a just, sustainable, and distributed system of work that meets people’s real needs and does not destroy the Earth’s climate.

www.pausenergy.org

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Albany School Budget Crunch Reflective of Statewide Crisis

The City School District of Albany is currently crafting its budget for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. As of this writing, the district faces a projected deficit of $5,829,454. This is the product of the combination of expiring grant funding and a sixth consecutive year of insufficient state aid. That is largely due to the “Gap Elimination Adjustment”, designed to close the state’s budget gap starting in FY 2010-2011. Although the state may end up with a budget surplus of $2 billion this year, it is yet to be seen whether this money will trickle down to school districts. Short of this, Albany CSD has two options to resolve their budget gap.

One option is simply to raise its revenues to match expenditures. This would require a tax levy increase of 5.21%. However, state law requires that for any planned tax levy increase above 0.935%, the budget would have to be approved by at least 60% of the city’s electorate in the May 20 vote, as opposed to the usual 50%. Clearly, no city would ever see 60% of its voters approve a tax levy increase that large.

The obvious solution thus is to cut district expenditures. To that end, the district has drawn up a series of proposed tier reductions. Each tier’s cuts are designed to reduce the necessary tax levy increase to a specific level; tier I cuts would reduce the levy to 2.30%, tiers I and II combined to 1.90%, and tiers I, II and III to 0%. The tier I cuts, currently projected to total $3,257,500, are designed to produce “the biggest bang for the buck”. These are big ticket cuts that are designed to be as far away from the classroom as possible. Among these are (mostly) uncontroversial proposals such as administrative reorganization and eliminating positions that are currently grant-funded. While these cuts would affect the equivalent of 44.3 full-time positions, they are overall unlikely to produce major uproar if implemented.

It is when one reaches the tier II proposals that major problems arise. Only four reductions are included in this tier, totalling $451,200. However, two of these are cuts that would have major impacts to popular but under-enrolled academic programs at the high school. These are two programs offered almost exclusively at Albany High School, that were among the “unique opportunities” that encouraged yours truly to enter the public school system instead of staying in private school: the International Baccalaureate program and Chinese language. Despite serving as major draws for the district, and proving immensely beneficial to the students who participate, the standing proposal is to completely phase these programs out by the end of the 2015-2016 school year. This is despite the fact that the projected 2014-2015 FY savings are only expected to be a combined $109,200, just 0.049% of the currently proposed $223,192,096 budget.

District Superintendent Dr. Marguerite vanden Wyngaard was asked about the cuts at a local neighborhood association meeting on March 11. She explained that the lack of pathways for students into these programs encouraged the district to propose their phasing out, although she stated that she did not wish for the cuts to come to fruition. Speaking in terms of sustainability regarding the IB program, “Dr. V” (as she is affectionately referred to by residents) stated that the district should focus on expanding opportunities for Advanced Placement courses, many of which are already close to over-enrolled. She also touted the hoped-for expansion of “University in the High School” programs, partnerships with local institutions of higher education. In addition, while recognizing that knowledge of a second-language is increasingly important in today’s global economy, she emphasized that no one can definitely determine which languages should be taught. She also pointed out that the district currently does not begin foreign language classes until grade 7, while most studies show that they should begin much earlier to actually be effective. These responses left some in the room unsatisfied.

The most draconian cuts of all are the proposed tier III cuts. The most prominent of these are a trio of million dollar proposals: returning to an eight-period day (as opposed to nine) in the middle and high schools, eliminating all home school coordinator positions, and cutting the district-wide hall monitor staff by a third. Such cuts would have immeasurable negative impacts on student opportunity and support structures. These, combined with the other proposed tier III cuts, amount to 69.7 full-time equivalent positions and $4,821,800 in savings.

Albany is not the only school district that has faced these challenges. Watervliet, a community of 10,000 just to the north, is one of the poorest school districts in the state of New York. According to one local resident, the district has been forced to cut its staff by 25% over the past few years; many positions are reportedly being staffed by unpaid volunteers and retirees. One can only hope that this is not the slippery slope Albany is heading down.

Nonetheless, Albany faces unique obstacles. First, because Albany is the state capital of New York, much of the property is owned by the state. As a result of state laws, this means that about 57% of Albany’s property is untaxable. Proposed legislation could help reduce the resulting amount of lost revenue, however. On March 13, Assemblywoman Pat Fahy, Assemblyman John McDonald and state Senator Neil Breslin (all representing Albany) stood alongside newly elected Democratic Mayor Kathy Sheehan as they announced a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) program for the W. Averell Harriman State Office Campus. The proposal would bring back $11.5 million to the city of Albany for the next ten years if it were approved by the state legislature and signed by the governor. However, this addresses only part of the revenue problem.

Another issue, the proverbial “elephant in the room”, is the charter school situation. Currently, the district provides over $35 million per year to charter schools within the city, only a small percentage of which is funded by the state. The battle over charter schools has entered the national picture of late, stemming from the growing feud between Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. De Blasio seeks to charge rent to charter schools utilizing city facilities, in a reversal from the policy of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. In addition, he has rejected three of the applications for so-called “co-located” schools, buildings jointly shared by a charter school and a public school. This has led Eva Moskowitz, who runs the affected Success Academy Charter Schools, to launch a public relations blitz against de Blasio, accusing him of leaving 194 Harlem middle-schoolers out in the cold. On March 4, Moskowitz marched 11,000 parents, teachers and students to the state capitol, forcing the children to miss class to make a political point.

Unfortunately, Moskowitz has a powerful ally: Governor Cuomo. “Families for Excellent Schools”, who officially organized the rally, is currently running a radio ad essentially thanking Cuomo, Senate “co-president” Jeffrey Klein (an IDC member who progressives are looking to primary), and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (a Republican) for their support for charter schools. It should be pointed out that Families for Excellent Schools is backed by the Walton Family Foundation, which serves the interests of the world’s wealthiest family.

It is unfortunate that the issue of education has been turned into the political football that it is today. A few wealthy individuals recognized that they could make a lot of money off of the school system, whether it be through charter schools or overzealous standardized testing. Others saw an opportunity to attack teachers’ unions in the name of serving the interests of students. Still more seized the initiative to push government out of education and move big business in. Someone needs to put an end to all of this, before it is too late.

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