Stevey Boy
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - The last time there was a decent tax revolt here, America was born.
This time, New York City could become the nation's 51st state, if a secession proposal by a local councilman succeeds.
Simply put, Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. argues, the city pays $3.5 billion more to the state in taxes than it gets in return and can't afford it anymore.
'We need our money back,' he said this week.
The timing couldn't be better, he said, as lawmakers in the capital of Albany wrestle over the latest state budget.
'In the past the idea of secession was romantic and maybe cute. Now it may be the only the way for the city to survive,' Vallone said.
It's not the first time New York has threatened to pack up and leave. Novelist Norman Mailer argued for secession in his 1969 quixotic mayoral bid. In the 19th century, a pro-slavery mayor proposed New York secede during the U.S. Civil War.
But it is no easy task. Vallone's proposal before the city council calls for a ballot referendum asking the public for approval to study secession for two years. Secession would need the approval of the state legislature and, last but certainly not least, the U.S. Congress.
Details would be tricky, from designing a new water supply system to a prison system to finding a new name, Vallone admitted. He offered 'Greater New York,' 'Gotham' or 'New Amsterdam' -- the city's name in the seventeenth century.
Then there's the issue of changing the American flag to add a 51st star. 'That's a good question. I hadn't thought of that,' he said. 'That could be what sinks the whole thing.'
Still, it's more than a folly, Vallone argued.
'We fought a war over secession. It was the Revolutionary War,' he said.
Critics argue that New York city on its own could not pay its bills. Mayor Michael Bloomberg dismissed Vallone's idea when it was first suggested, saying: 'New York state is not about to let 50 percent of its revenue go.'
Former Mayor Ed Koch, known for his blunt statements, said of the notion: 'It's bullshit. It's a lot of talk about nothing. It's a schmucky idea. I said that when it was first introduced, and it's still schmucky.'
Nevertheless, Vallone is unfazed. 'If this effort does nothing else but fix the inequities that exist, then it was successful,' he said.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...&e=4&u=/nm/20030509/od_nm/politics_newyork_dc
This time, New York City could become the nation's 51st state, if a secession proposal by a local councilman succeeds.
Simply put, Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. argues, the city pays $3.5 billion more to the state in taxes than it gets in return and can't afford it anymore.
'We need our money back,' he said this week.
The timing couldn't be better, he said, as lawmakers in the capital of Albany wrestle over the latest state budget.
'In the past the idea of secession was romantic and maybe cute. Now it may be the only the way for the city to survive,' Vallone said.
It's not the first time New York has threatened to pack up and leave. Novelist Norman Mailer argued for secession in his 1969 quixotic mayoral bid. In the 19th century, a pro-slavery mayor proposed New York secede during the U.S. Civil War.
But it is no easy task. Vallone's proposal before the city council calls for a ballot referendum asking the public for approval to study secession for two years. Secession would need the approval of the state legislature and, last but certainly not least, the U.S. Congress.
Details would be tricky, from designing a new water supply system to a prison system to finding a new name, Vallone admitted. He offered 'Greater New York,' 'Gotham' or 'New Amsterdam' -- the city's name in the seventeenth century.
Then there's the issue of changing the American flag to add a 51st star. 'That's a good question. I hadn't thought of that,' he said. 'That could be what sinks the whole thing.'
Still, it's more than a folly, Vallone argued.
'We fought a war over secession. It was the Revolutionary War,' he said.
Critics argue that New York city on its own could not pay its bills. Mayor Michael Bloomberg dismissed Vallone's idea when it was first suggested, saying: 'New York state is not about to let 50 percent of its revenue go.'
Former Mayor Ed Koch, known for his blunt statements, said of the notion: 'It's bullshit. It's a lot of talk about nothing. It's a schmucky idea. I said that when it was first introduced, and it's still schmucky.'
Nevertheless, Vallone is unfazed. 'If this effort does nothing else but fix the inequities that exist, then it was successful,' he said.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...&e=4&u=/nm/20030509/od_nm/politics_newyork_dc
that wud be weird :roll:
