Take Albany, as Henny Youngman used to say, please. A wealthy, brilliant but egocentric reforming NY State Attorney General becomes Governor, then proceeds to focus on a petty feud with a minor league upstate politico. He tops that by using prostitutes in a way that screams, "Catch me, suckers" all the way to the front page on his resignation day.
And that was before David Paterson, the son a major state politico ascended the "throne." He famously blew a 20-run lead with two outs in the ninth by throwing nothing but home run pitches to the press and the world while trying to fill Hillary's vacant Senate seat. A third grade class in Utica could have done it better. At least they would not have stupidly and purposely dragged a Kennedy through the mud along the way. Even Illinois can fill a Senate seat better than that, can't they?
Not to be outdone by a legally-dumb Governor, this week the NY State Senate just self-destructed in public. These guys make Illinois Rudy look like Churchill. When not legislating, they must have all be running GM or Chrysler auto dealerships into the ground, or maybe a dozen small banks into bankruptcy. The worst outcome of this debacle is that the Governor has sworn not to leave the state, since the interim guv would be one of the Senate clowns. This alone should be cause to end this hilarity fast and buy him a one way ticket. Carson City is nice at this time of year.
What do state capitols do that cannot be done by somebody else, somewhere else. DMV? Please, this can be outsourced in twenty seconds (hopefully, not to a company controlled by a state senator's nephew). Education? Does anyone believe that Albany has done a fabulous job of managing and financing schools and actually teaching our kids? Ask Mr. Bloomberg. Bank and Insurance regulation? That's a good one; Bernie Madoff could do a better job from prison.
It is very hard to think of anything that the states through their capitols and clueless politicians can do well or will ever be able to do well. Sending tax dollars to Albany, Springfield, Sacramento, etc. is like shoveling them into a huge compactor: citizens' dollars go in and come out as nickels.
Once, The Empire State might have seemed like a noble idea, one centered on a thriving "west" and a booming port at the mouth of the Hudson. Once, there must have been a real reason to have an Albany in the middle of it all. No more.
Close it down before it sucks us all dry and makes clowns of us all. You might not even notice that it's gone, but you will be better off for it.
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