NYCivic

The Special Interests Strike Back

By Henry J. Stern
March 18, 2005

Our article yesterday on the mind of the politician described the conflict between the desire for reelection and the pressure to please special interests or constituency groups. Of course, to some political minds, there is no difference between the two. If you want to be reelected, you please the constituency. That's who sent you there. And why shouldn't business or labor organize into groups we would call special interests, if only to hire a better class of lobbyists. What are special interests, anyway?

Well, one such interest would be what we call Big Tobacco, the cigarette manufacturers whose product has caused so much death and illness in families around the world. They are today's equivalent of munitions makers. But even in the case of the once notorious armament industry, known as Merchants of Death, a great deal depends on for whom they are making the weapons, us or them. Our guys and gals (symbolized by Rosie the Riveter in World War II posters) are doing the work of the Lord and keeping us free by manufacturing products that are used to serve the public interest (keeping us free, e.g.). But if the same factory, or its foreign associates, sell their wares to Iran or North Korea (the remaining members of the Axis of Evil), they are doing the work of the Devil, and deserve the worst. Munitions makers morph into aircraft builders, which keep skilled workers employed and provide a fleet of airplanes for civilian use around the world, which is very helpful to our balance of payments. But airplanes can be equipped with either gun turrets or observation bubbles, using similar tools to cut metal.

In terms of money and influence, perhaps New York State's most powerful special interest and strongest lobby are the men and women in Albany and elsewhere who represent the United Federation of Teachers, part of the United Teachers of New York State. Their union is part of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. They represent the economic and social needs of teachers: salaries, pensions, tenure, excuse from certain duties, protection of job rights through seniority, and virtual immunity from dismissal for incompetence as a result of mandatory arbitration of issues of employee misconduct.

The reason the unions do well in these proceedings, is that the arbitrators, some of whom are schlemiels making a few hundred bucks for a case, are appointed by both parties, and they fear that they will be blackballed by the union if they fire anybody. Arbitrators usually like to cut the baby in half, which is acceptable when you are dealing with the amount of a fine or the length of a suspension, but when the issue is dismissal, the employee is either fired or he is not. Usually he keeps his job, and a lesser penalty is imposed, even if the teacher is a child molester. Unbelievable but true.

The UFT says it is acting in the interest of the children, our country's greatest treasure. To the extent that the interests of the children coincide with those of the teachers, that statement is true. But when there is a divergence of interest, the union sticks with its dues payers, just as legislators usually stay with their own benefactors. (Rule 23, Money talks, b------- walks.) No, we don't give you the last blank, that's tabloid style.

A business or homeowners' group demands lower taxes. Unions, hospitals and social workers demand more services. These goals are mutually inconsistent, except in the wonderful world of borrowing, in which we repay our children for their education today by requiring them to pay for it tomorrow. There are no lobbyists in Albany representing tomorrow.

Is a group fighting a particular disease a special interest? The war on death and illness is a one of humanity's most important causes but it is still 'special', to the extent that its demands are part of the totality of public spending, and they come at the expense of other worthy causes that might otherwise have been funded.

You can define 'special' as different from 'general.' Agencies have general counsels to do their usual in-house legal work, and special counsels for particular issues or cases. New York City has its own Law Department, headed by the Corporation Counsel, a mayoral appointee. They are responsible for representing city agencies in court. The position compares in some ways with the New York State attorney general, who is an independent elected official. Attorney General Jacob K. Javits, having defeated Congressman Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., in 1954, went on to win election to the United States Senate in 1956 to start the first of his four terms.

Special interests are neither all bad, nor all good. It is true that if you did what all of them wanted, the state would soon be bankrupt. There are many cases where the demands of different special interest groups conflict with each other, e.g. conservationists, preservationists and historians on one side, while developers, contractors and unions are on the other. Sometimes it is difficult to determine what is right. In other situations, your judgment on issues will be informed by your own principles. The merits of both economic (minimum wage, tax policy) and social issues (gay marriage, abortion) are likely to be seen differently by Republicans and Democrats. Some decisions are easy to make, but many are not. If you believe in fairness for all, opportunity to advance and responsibility for behavior, you are likely to come down somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. If you are on the extreme, you will be considered an ideologue, which is a pejorative used by those with a different ideology. But there are real ideologues, people who do not look at the merits of proposals because their minds are bound by preconceptions. They come on both sides — the left and the right.

We have advocated that legislators use their individual judgment on bills rather than groupthink, but the argument can be made that 212 individuals, each scrambling to enrich and elevate him/herself, will have worse or more parochial judgment than party leaders who have a larger or statewide constituency. Nonetheless, we would give individual responsibility a try, rather than having submissives voting by rote, following the Pavlovian practice of reward and punishment.

As we reported yesterday, we are disappointed by our politicians in general. The governor, for example, has been buffeted by a wave of unpopularity because of ethical lapses and his apparent lack of interest in his job during his eleventh year of service. His neighbors, the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut, have lost their jobs. Just today, one was sentenced to jail. Also today, a former state senator left jail after a truncated sentence.

It is difficult in normal circumstances to make decisions between the different and sometimes opposing claims of special interests. It is even harder when you or your staff are taking money, reimbursement, speaking fees, travel expenses or other favors from one or both of the competitive interests.

We believe that integrity is the preeminent requirement for public service. You can deal with pressures if you are yourself on the level. When you have been bought and paid for, you cannot decide matters with regard to any interest other than your own. The sequel to Watergate was worse than the crime. Lying, cheating and stealing are simply unacceptable, but the agencies whose mission it is to chase the crooks are usually outmanned and outgunned by the forces of darkness. But the courts usually get things right in the end, even when the judges are split. Aa change of one member, even a change of mind, can tip the balance of the court. But a change of one vote per election district in Florida in 2000 would have tipped the presidency.

Some of us are stimulated, even excited, by the eternal struggle with evil, incompetence and sloth. Some avoid it, as if it were a horror movie. I side with the actives: whether we win or Iose in our revolving-door democracy, the chances are that we will experience both victory and defeat during the course of our lifetimes.

Theodore Roosevelt and other alpha males have written in praise of people of action and in derogation of those do not participate in the struggle. He is a Republican icon for leadership and progress, as well as ego. But we doubt he would receive a Republican nomination today, even for vice president, the position for which he was chosen in 1900 by party bosses in order to get him out of New York State.

Special interests may represent causes which are good, bad or indifferent. The problem is that the pressures they exert can impact heavily on the hearts, minds and campaign treasuries of elected officials and those seeking election. Doing the right thing is made more difficult if someone is standing on your chest. On the other hand, remember Rule 29-C: "This is the business we have chosen."

Consider this an amplification of yesterday's column on the mind of the politician.

Final note: If you care to attend, the New York Civic - Museum of the City of New York forum on the 91st St marine transfer station will be held Monday, March 21. Call Moby at 212-564-4441 for information on time, place and reservations.

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