On the Issues
Click on one of the headers below for more information.
Economy
More than any other city in the world, New York means business. For generations, New York's business community has been a vital engine of the national and global economy. Sadly, the entrepreneurial spirit that fuels this prosperity is being choked off by a punitive tax regime and an abusive regulatory environment. New York State's business tax climate current ranks an abysmal 50th place and the outmigration rate of our citizens is the highest in the nation. I am squarely focused on realigning New York's fiscal priorities away from a system that stifles growth in a short-term attempt to maximize the slice of the pie it seizes from the private sector to one that champions growth, innovation, and long-term prosperity.
Security
The first duty of government is to the security of its citizens. When it comes to safety, New York has a lot to be proud of. New York City is the safest large city in America by nearly every measure. Still, as illustrated so viscerally on September 11, New York is far from immune from danger. While many lessons have been learned and capably implemented over the last 5 years, many aspects of our security infrastructure remain unacceptably deficient. Immediate attention must be placed on exploring physical redundancies, logistical contingencies, and criminal penalties that promote a more robust, more secure environment for all New Yorkers.
Transportation
What do the power authorities, the MTA, and the Roosevelt Island Tramway have in common (other than crippling service interruptions)? They're all run by state-authorized "public benefit corporations", an awkward chimera that's part government agency and part private company. The inevitable result is high prices, low quality, and an occasionally dangerous lack of reliability. This tortured corporate structure needs to be scrapped if we are to make gains in the quality of our most critical transportation systems.
Energy
Despite a lesser reliance on cars for daily commuting, most New Yorkers are keenly aware of the impact of high energy prices. From home heating costs to transportation surcharges, the effects can be felt in many aspects of our daily lives. Happily, one positive side effect of high oil prices is the relative cost effectiveness of pursuing alternative energy initiatives. New York is uniquely well-positioned to become a national leader in the research and development of next generation energy solutions. By minimizing undue regulatory restrictions and lowering the cost of doing business in New York, we can seize the opportunity to germinate new industries that create jobs for New Yorkers and help to ease the burden of high global energy prices.
Healthcare
Comprehensive tort reform and a major crackdown on Medicaid fraud could save New York many billions of dollars a year, freeing up vast resources for worthwhile healthcare spending and other vital priorities. The level of apathy in the legislature required to turn a perennial blind eye to the significance of this waste and abuse is astonishing; it's clear we need new voices in Albany to represent the real priorities of New Yorkers.
Education
It seems self-evident that quality education should be among our highest priorities. Without delving into platitudes about the children being our future, suffice it to say that improvements in education carry great multiplier effects on the society and the economy. In that sense, a good education benefits not only its direct recipients, but also the system that provides it. Unfortunately, the reverse also holds true. Gaps in the availability or affordability of quality education tends to prompt a negatively self-reinforcing cycle. If we can rein in bureaucratic waste and encourage cost-effective performance improvement by properly incentivized administrators, we should soon begin to see the vast multiplier effects of a sound school system take root.
Government Reform
Albany's culture of complacency with politics as usual creates an unusual burden for New Yorkers. A broken budgeting process, a perverse concentration of power among a small handful of elected officials, and a shrouded pork spending process that is patently undemocratic have all served to entrench a ruling class that appears largely indifferent to reform. In addition to pursuing a comprehensive reform initiative to dismantle the skewed power structure, I would support the adoption of accounting methodologies that better reflect the fast-growing long-term liabilities in the state budget, in the spirit of the bi-partisan Truth in Accounting Act now before the U.S. Congress.