Donn Esmonde, long-serving political columnist for the Buffalo News (Buffalo’s only daily newspaper) has this column about the New York gubernatorial debate of October 18. The column suggests that Warren Redlich, the Libertarian nominee, had the best performance of any of the seven candidates.
Previously at IPR:
Think 3 Institute: Turning Inclusive Debates into ‘Reality’
Jimmy McMillan video goes viral: one million plus views
NY Governor Debate: Minor Party Candidates Steal The Show
Opinion from the blogosphere: The Real Face-offs in the 10/18/10 NY Guv Debate
and
In NY: Six Way Governor Debate Announced (Paladino’s participation was not confirmed at that time).
Video of the debate is on YNN.
“I’ll be voting for Redlich, and hoping against all evidence that his ideas, if not his person, are winging toward Albany come January.”
Tim Heffernan
Esquire.com
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/cuomo-and-paladino-both-lost-the-debate?src=rss
Paulie @ #4 – I watched part of the debate, and I saw Andrew Cuomo – the Democrat – say “taxes are too damn high.” And of course Kristin Davis voiced that sentiment several times.
My computer froze part way through the debate, so I don’t know if Jimmy McMillan said “taxes are too damn high.”
I’m thinking of doing a post called “Yes rent is too damn high…but why?”
I need someone else here to make the market problem/government solution argument so that we have a balanced post, or maybe several people giving their opinion.
Another factor in the rent being too high is “slum clearing,” which destroyed thousands of buildings where mostly poor people lived so that self-important central bureaucratic planners could play out their Napoleonic visions of urban reconstruction by government fiat.
@3 Exactly!
As I said on another thread earlier today…
I like McMillan too, but if he thinks that government rent control works, he’s on the wrong track.
What happens with rent control is that a lot of housing stock becomes unprofitable, and the economic incentive becomes to collect insurance rather than rent on it.
In the 1970s, New York City landlords paid arsonists under the table to torch thousands of apartment buildings, or just simply abandoned them. This left neighborhoods filled with burned out, abandoned buildings, in many cases for 20 years or more.
Government housing has been another disaster for NYC (and many other places).
On the other hand, I could be presuming incorrectly that these are his proposed solutions. I haven’t actually heard him say what he thinks should be done about the rent being too high.
I did hear, second hand, that he said taxes are too high. If so, kudos!
Either way, gotta love his style!
BTW, I grew up in NYC in the 80s, in neighborhoods that had a lot of government housing and burned out, abandoned buildings. I’ve lived in both myself as well, and at one time co-owned a company that bought abandoned buildings for $1 from the city (which got ownership through default of property taxes and building codes fines) and fixed them up.
Rent in NY is indeed outrageously high. One thing that a lot of people may not realize is that government housing and rent control actually contributes a great deal to this.
They serve to artificially restrict supply of housing, take out a lot of the lower end of the rental market, and create a situation where landlords jack up the rates on some units to make up for others.
Good for Warren Redlich and New York Libertarians. And the message of less government and lower taxes that Mr Redlich pushed was echoed by Kristin Davis of the Anti-Prohibitionist Party.
And the new prominence of the Rent is Too Damn High Party has another lesson. New York has had rent control longer than any American jurisdiction. Rather than making housing affordable, it has caused developers to decide against building more residences, and led to abandonment of apartment buildings throughout the city as landlords flee money-losing properties.
The resulting shortage of rental units has led to higher rents, and the rents always start high because rent increases are limited. And it has led to “key fees” and other add-ons to get around the rent control laws.
The debates are not a panacea for losing.
Whether they get into debates or not Greens & Libs are going to lose en masse.
Politics as usual.
I do not think it is unreasonable to suggest that Warren Redlich may have won the debate.
One of my fairly unpolitical relatives did say that she thought Warren did the best.
Though, I think several folks did well.
I would still say this:
If Warren won — which he may have — on collecting new voters and supporters…
Still, Jimmy McMillan of Rent is Too Damn High won on some level. McMillan is a one issue candidate, and he got other candidates and the audience to say his message. Jimmy McMillan gave a huge boost to his name recognition, and earned a lot of media exposure for his cause.
Especially since he is a one-issue candidate, that was probably winning for him.