Mandate full funding of all statewide campaigns, with equal access to media for all candidates and prohibit private campaign contributions. Contest the Supreme Court decision equating umlimited spending on one's own campaign with free speech.
New Yorkers can no longer tolerate a dictatorial lawmaking system. The Governor, Assembly Speaker and Senate Majority Leader must be divested of their strangleholds over the state's public policy agendas. We must have genuine popular democracy, where legislators are allowed to hold meaningful public hearings on any and all topics, where legislators may introduce bills without the approvals of the Senate Majority Leader or the Assembly Speaker, where non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) are welcomed into legislative deliberation.
Elections should employ the latest ballot-counting technology in an environment that promotes the proliferation of local and statewide alternative political parties. New York State's arcane, pro-Dempublican ballot access laws must be abolished. Institute proportional representation and instant runoffs.
We do not need a state taxation system that acts as Robin Hood in reverse--stealing from the poor to give to the rich. Working and middle class New Yorkers bear the overwhelming burden of State taxes. Taxation in New York State must be absolutely progressive. Put simply, corporations and wealthy individuals should pay proportionally higher taxes than working and middle class people.
Corporations must no longer be allowed to extort outrageous tax breaks from this state by threatening to relocate, but rather must earn tax breaks by providing support to government initiatives.
