November 2009 Archives

No New Plates

By Nancy Muldoon

            I was thrilled when I heard that New York State dropped the mandate for motorists to purchase new license plates. It should be no surprise that the battle cry and the petitions against this inane idea was spearheaded by Saratoga County Clerk Kathy Marchione.  

            Now normally, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the people who are employed there aren't exactly warmly embraced by the general public. No one enjoys having to go to DMV for anything. But I also believe if anyone can change the public's perception of the DMV and County Clerks in general it would be Ms. Marchione. She is somewhat of an anomaly. She is obviously passionate about the work that she does. People in government, especially at the county level aren't exactly known for being passionate. Ms. Marchione isn't your run of the mill county clerk that's for sure.

            I do agree with Marchione's assessment that the idea behind the license plate change was nothing more than an ill-conceived cash grab by our state government. Most decisions that our state government makes could be very well considered an ill-conceived cash grab don't you think?

            First it was mandated flu vaccines and then the mandated new license plates; it makes you wonder how Governor Paterson comes up with these ideas in the first place.

Both mandates were dropped after public outcry which restores my faith in humanity and lets all of us know that there is still hope for the future of New York after all.

            What added insult to injury is when Governor Paterson told New Yorkers last week that he would drop the license plate mandate if someone could figure out how to raise $129,000,000 for the State of New York.  It was my understanding that figuring out how to run New York State was in fact the Governor's job but I will be more than happy to give my two cents.

            Well, for starters, the Governor could give his salary back to the State of New York, I mean if we are that hard up for cash then the Governor himself should have to sacrifice something and his salary would be a good start. How about turning the Governors Mansion into a museum and charging $20 per person, he could charge more if he gives the tours himself. Rent the Governors Mansion out for weddings and charity events. Those are just the remedies that I can think of off the top of my head, I'm sure that as the days go by, I could think of more ways for New York State to generate money as I am sure that you the reader could think of quite a few gems yourself.

            The shenanigans that go on in Albany are exactly the reason why small villages and towns like Ballston Spa and Malta care so much about our quality of life and have made sure that "growth" and urban sprawl are limited so where we live doesn't become like Albany or Schenectady. Albany and Schenectady are merely lessons and examples of what happens when the community doesn't pay attention to what goes on in town meetings and when we allow others to make the decisions for us and the community we live in.

            Governor Paterson is in a tricky spot, and its obvious by the way he is allowing the legislature to call the shots that his leadership skills are sorely lacking. In times of crisis leadership is ultimately worth more than money. He should be at the helm of a mighty ship called New York. Instead he is drifting out to sea while every county in New York State is reduced to running for a life boat.

            Now, if we can just get Kathy Marchione to run for Governor we might be okay.

America is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not provide adequate health care to its citizens. When I think about this absurdity and I do think of it often; like the recently mandated vaccines for the H1NI flu and then the mysteriously dropped mandate by Governor Paterson when it was clear that the Department of Public Health could not provide the vaccines to everyone.

            Then, unbelievably Congressman Scott Murphy voted NO on a health care reform bill this past week. Like many people I was astounded that he felt the health bill had too many flaws in it. Does he think he is going to be able to sit down with President Obama and work out the many flaws? Our health care system is filled with nothing but flaws. It typically will not pay for preventative care but will notoriously pay for very expensive surgeries when it is usually too late to save someones life.  By voting no on this bill, he has alienated his constituents and this is either the beginning of the end for Mr. Murphy or he is much shrewder than we all think he is.

 Just last year Congressman Murphy pulled a rabbit out of hat by getting himself elected in spite of the fact that no one had heard of him three months before the election. I guess it remains to be seen if he has other tricks up his sleeve regarding health care reform.

            This week I had the opportunity to talk with Veterans from the American Legion Post 234 and the VFW Post 358 in Ballston Spa and if anyone needs health care its our Veterans who have a myriad of health care issues. Some Veterans are in need of basic needs like a place to live and it's a good feeling that so many Veterans and other people in this community are contributing to the upcoming Guardian House ( a home for homeless women Veterans) Our First Lady, Michelle Paige Paterson is very involved in the Guardian House Project.

            I am amazed at just how much Veterans contribute and not just in a time of war, they contribute their time and energy to those people who have nothing when they come back from active combat. They donate things like crutches and wheelchairs, which really should be provided by our government since they fought to protect our government and our freedoms everyday while they were deployed. It seems downright un-American that so many are denied basic health care in this country. There are many in the community Such as Bob Starks, Joanne Yepsen and Budd Mazurek who are very adept at fundraising, if they can do it why can't our government officials whose job it is to help their constituents get what they need?

Bob Starks, Commander of the VFW Post 358 told me this week, [Veterans] "We're the pillars of society." I had never thought of it that way, but you know what, in a way he is correct, can you imagine what this country might be like if we had no armed forces? Not a pretty thought is it? It makes me feel blessed that we live in a community where there are people who actually care and want to help others. It's easy to feel cynical in difficult economic times and the state of our current health care system is anything but uplifting.

However, by being active in ones community such as Ballston Spa, its easier to see the stars behind the scenes, the unsung heroes who are instrumental in making our society truly functional and worth fighting for. These are the people that make American a great place to live because they don't talk about the values, ethics, and community service, they live them and we should all be so lucky. Our local elected officials as well as the ones who are in Washington should make a note to themselves that true community involvement is what makes this country work; it certainly trumps trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat.                            

                                                            ###