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Rensselaer County Taxpayers Association

January 1999                                                                                                                                                     Volume 4, Number 1

We’re starting our fourth season. Our readers have been of enormous help in encouraging us and contributing ideas and solid facts to make our job easier. Needless to say, we are grateful and look forward to being of continued service to those who find it difficult to get information otherwise unobtainable. Join us, won’t you?

What is the Rensselaer County Taxpayers Association (RCTA)? Whom and when does it serve? These and many other questions may be answered for those readers who examine RCTA’s Mission and Vision statement which follows:

Mission Statement

The Rensselaer County Taxpayers Association (RCTA) strives to put more money in the taxpayers’ pockets.

 

Vision Statement

The Rensselaer County Taxpayers’ Association (RCTA) will take an active role in supporting small, efficient, constitutional government, in fostering excellence in education for our children, in passing fewer and better laws, assuring the right to know, and guaranteeing expenditures that are based on need or performance, and finally the worth of each member of society.

Additionally, RCTA is opposed to higher taxation, unneeded bureaucracies, trade unions that reward special interest groups, protection from socialist teachings, and grandiose expenditures for local projects.

Succinctly, RCTA is an organization which strives to keep more of your money in your pocket. Public officials should follow the examples being set by private enterprise. A critical examination of what is currently being done may lead to more efficient, less expensive options, being implemented. Appropriate downsizing is a good thing. It will lead to greater accountability, cooperation and excellence.

We, RCTA, want you to become a member of our growing organization. A strong county-wide association is vital in order to bring about meaningful change in the use of taxpayer money. Join Today.

In addition to another pay raise, we call attention to the recent "Character Counts Week" at Columbia High School. Is there a lack of understanding on the part of academics as to the true meaning of the word character? It has been wrongfully used by some, as referring to a person of strange or unusual habits. He or she is a "character." Their comprehension is about as knowledgeable as President Clinton’s with the word "is" or his perception of perjury, moral terpitude or family values.

The school made a big to-do on character week. A question - previous to this event, were pupils ever specifically told or instructed on the difference between right and wrong? Evidently not. Self esteem and just having fun has predominated. The school district plans to make "Character Counts Week" an annual event. Does not character mean anything during the rest of the year? Apparently, it never entered their heads.

Character is the primary motivation of the inner soul of humans that separates them from animals. This is the part the educrats find most difficult to understand. Their "anything goes" attitude speaks volumes and betrays a tendency for self interest above all else. It may explain why a large number show a blind devotion to our President, thus overlooking his grevious faults and lack of true character. He has seen fit to risk war and the killing of innocent people in order to save his political hide. (not Henry Hyde). Is this an example for our students to follow?

Character is a way of life, not once a week or once a year. Unless and until our public school systems are brought under the control of our citizens with liberal and political control removed, we will continue to have poor grades and failures, vandalism, unacceptable behavior, morality problems and worse. More money has nothing to do with it. Unfortunately, we elected a President who does not understand this.

Charter Schools are an excellent alternative to the present set up. The Supreme Court has recently made a favorable decision leaning this way. The opposition comes from academe and unions who have a weak case to sustain their flawed positions.

On the other hand, when you have dedicated teachers with many years of hands-on experience telling the truth about incompetence and a lack of serious intent by faculty members, greedy, bungling administrators and down right dangerous conditions, is it any wonder the public and particularly parents want better for their children?

The constant harangue by liberals for more funds and more state aid is as specious as their false cries of under funding, etc. Our local schools have opted to avoid the New York State Regents program for higher standards of study and continually rely on remedial courses. The records show foreign students in industrialized countries are far ahead of ours in all the basics. Many of their pupils take not one but two foreign languages in addition to being fluent in their native tongue. Far too many of our appointed ambassadors have no knowledge of a country or its language prior to being sent to represent us. A shame! More fun and games and more soccer fields will not improve things. What good is a diploma to one who can barely read?

According to a recent issue of the Legislative Gazette, the State Legislature has approved an "Historic Grant" of some $2 million for homosexual programs, "other than AIDS related programs." Yes, and our conservative Senate approved this grant.

What does it do? It provides funds of "between $50,000 and $125,000 for local homosexual groups to identify homosexual youths at risk of suicide, drug or alcohol abuse, dropping out of school and other problems."

Governor Pataki vetoed this item, but the Health Commissioner "was able to ‘scrape together’ $2 million" that was sort of lying about and even though his boss vetoed this item, he made the money available to the homosexual groups.

David Kilmnick, Executive Director of the Long Island Gay & Lesbian Youth, which will receive $100,000 is reported to have said, "it has been frustrating to watch other Long Island groups serving non-homosexual constituencies get ‘hundreds of thousands of dollars’ in state funding while his five year old group got none."

He evidently wants us to believe that homosexual youths can not get this help from the groups which have been funded? They have the same rights as others, or are they special, deserving more. It appears that they not only want equal protection under the law, but they want, and evidently get more.

Our next question is, who is in charge in this state? Or is it possible that this is a grand scam? The Governor vetoes the bill, thus he looks like a hero, then his subordinate commissioner "scrapes" up the money and grants it to these people, contrary to the Governor’s veto.

We, the taxpayers have been duped again. Speaking of duping the people, think about this. The attorney General-elect is about to appoint a member of the capital media corps as his publicist at some $115,000 per year. When you add the cost of his office, vacation, sick leave, pension, secretarial and clerical help, telephones, including cellular phones, computers, copy equipment, state car, etc. and you will come up with a figure close to one half million dollars.

What does a publicist do? He is a speech writer, makes buddy-buddy with his friends in the media corps and writes press releases for the Attorney General to make him look good.

We believe that this position, if offered to the public at half the salary could be quickly filled. Think, also how such a job and salary and its perks influences the minds of other members of the capital media corps. Does it have an effect on the performance of their jobs? Do they ever think that someday they, too may be offered such a job? High paying, high perks jobs have caused others to wink at ethics and integrity. People seem to have a way of justifying their actions when it is to their advantage. Isn’t that why we don’t let judges judge their own cases?

The impeachment proceedings in Congress have been taking up so much media attention that a number of heretofor important issues have fallen by the wayside. A number of these issues would be front page stories in any other case. The election losses by Republicans this November were a good example.

Many left leaning or wrong headed political analysts have rushed to one simplistic conclusion; that this is the final nail in the coffin of the Republican Revolution. Let’s get one thing straight. There was no Republican Revolution. It was a Conservative Revolution.

Far too many Republicans in leadership positions have denounced the moral, pro-family, and tax reform planks in the Republican platform to conclude anything other. The only reason for George Pataki’s initial victory was "Conservative Congressional Coattails." Careful study of the political ideologies of many prominent political candidates indicates that when a Liberal (Socialist) Democrat goes up against a Liberal (Socialist) to moderate Republican, the Democrat usually wins. Candidate Pataki won in’94 because he spoke like one of the Congressional Conservatives. In ’98, his margin of victory was less than anticipated because he has been acting like a Liberal (Socialist).

Attorney General Dennis Vacco’s defeat was the result of his rejection of the "Right to Life" line. Al D’Amato forgot that you have to give people something to vote for. He would have defeated Schumer handily had he focused on issues. We must remember the immortal words of Stephan Decatur, "I have not yet begun to fight."

Strange, when one party votes virtually in unison on an issue it is labeled a lack of bi-partisanship; however, when the other votes in unison in the opposite way it is called statesmanship. Listen to House Majority Whip Tom Delay (R., Texas):

"The president’s defenders have said that the president is morally reprehensible, that he is reckless, that he has violated the trust of the American people, lessened their esteem for the office of the president and dishonored the office, which they have entrusted in him, but that doesn’t rise to the level of impeachment. What the defenders want to do is lower the standards by which we hold this president and lower the standards for our society."

Bloc voting in the recent national election for Congress and state-wide offices dictated the results in no small part for the Empire State. Four demographic groups went to the polls in extraordinary numbers. They responded, in part, to pleas from members of the first family, spiritual leaders, and others.

Congratulations are extended by RCTA to those who had the foresight and political savvy to mobilize these blocs. In contrast, the Association questions why the stay-at-home voters allow special interest groups to decide what public policy shall be and who the "players" are.

Examine the following truism: It is easy to spend someone else’s money; and, the beauty of it all is the fact that the politician is paid while doing so. If you agree, then write notes on your calendar to vote every May/June and November.

Who is the only man (?) in history to turn impeachment into a photo-op?
Sherwood Park Resident

The feminists would like to refute Santa Claus. All they have to do is convince 50 million kids
Schodack Resident

Graffiti, according to State Police is a criminal offense – a felony punishable by fine and imprisonment.
East Greenbush Resident

In the impeachment process the good guys finally won one.
Hampton Manor Resident

Why don’t the environmentalists start a campaign against Christmas trees? Even foolishness has its limitations.
East Greenbush Resident

Now during a period of reasonable prosperity, we should enhance efficiency and hold the line of excessive spending. Bad times could loom ahead, and probably will.
East Greenbush Resident

Reaction of a 7 year old school pupil –"He’s the President of the United States, what can he lie about?"
East Greenbush Resident

Coming Attractions

• Plan to attend the RCTA meetings which are held on the second Tuesday of each month in the East Greenbush Town Hall at 7:00 pm. RCTA has plans to meet throughout the county as its membership expands.
• Members of goodwill solicited.