By Linda Imhauser
Congratulations voters! Once again, you’ve voted against your own best interests.
You’ve handed control of the New York state Senate to Republicans. They are members of a party that wants to diminish voting rights, women’s rights, clean air and water acts, the minimum wage, and social safety nets, while increasing the rights of corporations and the wealthy.
You’ve re-elected Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a quasi-Democrat who created the Women’s Equality Party to take votes away from the Working Families Party, which backed him when he agreed to support a minimum wage increase. Cuomo also established the Moreland Commission in July 2013 to fight political corruption, but abruptly disbanded it only eight months later. His top aide banned subpoenas to organizations with ties to the governor, claiming the commission was supposed to investigate the Legislature, not the governor’s office. Perhaps Cuomo needs to learn more about ethics himself.
Congratulations! You passed a proposal that was opposed by Common Cause and the New York Public Interest Research Group founded by Ralph Nader. It gave politicians the right to reshape voting districts to get their candidates elected. You also passed a $2 billion bond proposal to provide money for school technology that will be obsolete in a few years. This money could have been used to rehire teachers and restore school budget cuts instead.
Unfortunately, without researching important issues, many people regularly vote against their own interests. Those of you who didn’t bother to vote should also be congratulated — for your lack of interest in political affairs that will ultimately affect every one of us.
Linda Imhauser
Whitestone
