Robbins for Alderman 2009

Campaign Platform

Here is what I will do as 7th Ward Alderman to make Corning the centerpiece of Steuben County, and an artistic and cultural focal point for our part of New York state.

LIVING WAGE

Since the poverty rate is based on gross annual income, a living wage would be variable depending upon the area that is calculated. For Steuben County it would be $7.75 an hour, while in New York state overall it would be $10.37 an hour. This is also based on a work week of forty hours. The amount would be multiplied by how many dependents that would rely on this wage. A living wage, unlike a minimum wage that can keep people below the poverty line, can restore consumer stability while also saving money on social services that would normally be spent on those who are classified as the "working poor". Initiating a living wage would work in conjunction with supporting local businesses that would in turn develop worker ownership, in recognition that consumers and workers are the same people in an economy.

A living wage ordinance would require all businesses within the city limits to pay a living wage. This can be done through a gradual process over time beginning with businesses that receive at least $50,000 in assistance from the city, then businesses that hire at least 25 people, and finally the smallest businesses can have the most time in order to prepare to pay a living wage to their workers. During the implementation process those businesses that choose to be organized as cooperatives will have the ability to file a deferment from following the ordinance with the agreement to put a living wage up to a vote by the workers as owners.

Local businesses need to be able to eventually pay a living wage in order to support consumer stability while also maintaining that the primary mechanisms of an economy must be locally controlled. That is why I oppose the Empire Zone system which gives exorbitant tax breaks to outside corporations in order to come into communities and dominate the economic landscape. Not only do these corporations not pay a living wage in most cases, but thousands of dollars are spent by the Empire Zone to create even one corporate job in Corning. Since the corporation does not pay any taxes as an incentive, that money comes from the taxes paid by residents of the community. Paying taxes that go to supporting local businesses and helping them pay a living wage would seem to be a better way to spend tax revenue.

COMMUNITY INVESTMENT

Banking has become a private business that oversees public goods as well as the economic destiny of most communities. The centralization of the banking structure has made it more difficult for communities to create their own systems of loans and credits that would assist in their own preservation and sustainability. The banking system has even become autonomous from the executive branch of the federal government and has made it less accountable to the democratic process. There must not only be reform of the central national aspects of banking, but an allowance of local endeavors that would make it possible for economic empowerment and the end of debt and dependency. I therefore support:

1. A micro-credit system for small targeted business loans. It would be managed through mutual banks chartered by the community with no interest on the loans. The system would facilitate money from the public toward these small loans. A minimum amount would be $200 and a maximum amount would be $2,000.
2. A community investment fund for larger general business loans. It would be managed by cooperative banks chartered by the state with no interest on the loans. The cooperative banks would purchase one share of stock from each business within the community as a base collateral for initial loans. The banks would accept property and future labor as collateral, but the amount would be no greater than 50% of the value of the property. The community investment fund would encourage capital loans with a less collateral requirement, and the largest loans would be given to cooperative businesses and the self-employed. Loans would be used from the money returns from previous loans. A minimum amount would be $500 and a maximum amount would be $50,000.
3. An affinity credit to supplement micro-credit and the community investment fund while offering an alternative to credit cards. Each participant has direct connections to those who they trust. Debt and credit can be exchanged between strangers through trusted intermediaries. Each participant loans or repays to those they trust as intermediaries. A directory would be used to determine connections of trust and intermediaries.

The need for economic empowerment is directly related to local organization and community control. Those who are able to experience economic processes on a firsthand basis should be those who determine how the economic processes are structured for their own benefit. Overall national and global economic changes can have a negative repercussion on communities, and these communities must have the ability to shape their own destiny and protect themselves from these changes. A local currency system can be a tool for local economic empowerment. It can be used as a supplement to wages, making it possible for people to provide for their needs, while supporting local businesses who would accept the local currency. This creates a stable local environment that is the foundation for economic security, keeping the circulation of money within the community and multiplying its value. I therefore support the establishment of local currency systems that would have the following characteristics:

1. An equal amount of the currency would be issued yearly to every member of the community. Each amount would be based on a living wage for a year.
2. The units of the currency would be in 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50 increments. The currency would take the form of paper certificates or electronic debit cards.
3. A PGP encryption code would be applied to each unit of the currency to insure authenticity. Each unit value would equal 1 kilowatt of energy, 1 hour of labor, or 2 pounds of consumable flora.
4. There would be an option for an emergency solubility of 5 units of national currencies that would be allowed once in a 28-day period. A fund for solubility would be based on initial deposits made by residents. An initial 50 units of the local currency would be issued for deposits of 50 units of a national currency.
5. The local currency would go through a process of demurrage after two years at a rate of 1% per day. The value removed from the currency in circulation would be automatically transferred to the issuance of new currency on a yearly basis.

The corporate model of business is an inherently anti-democratic structure that erodes the power of citizens and communities. Corporations create a dependency of labor and consumption that makes it impossible for local businesses to survive and the community to exist autonomously. There must be an alternative that builds upon the strength of people in a decentralized way and that emphasizes cooperation and sustainability rather than profit and incessant growth. I advocate:

1. The providing for the immediate revocation of the corporate charter of any corporation doing business in the city of Corning if the corporation or any officer or employee of the corporation is found to be guilty of homicide while acting in the course of his employment.
2. The preservation of the rights of citizens to class action lawsuits, medical malpractice, and the right to hear class action lawsuits. This would include the ability of Corning to place eminent domain seizures on a referendum to be voted on by the community. The profits of eminent domain compensation and public lands would be divided among the local population.
3. A graduated regulatory process where the larger businesses would require more public regulations. The size of the business would be determined by a formula based on the amount of workers employed. This would stimulate the creation of large-scale cooperatives or the breaking up into smaller firms. Since there is a direct relation between business size and public responsibility and economic impact, there would be multiple firms within the community and a porous employment transition between firms.
4. A Capital Homesteading Act that would enact immanent direct democracy procedures and the oversight of cooperatives and employee stock ownership plans. Grants would be given that would allow the collective purchase of land, buildings, and equipment including the purchasing by workers of factories and other buildings left by exiting corporations. The grants would be administered by the Economic Development Loan Program. The profits from any created businesses would be rent for collective ownership. Individual stock ownership plans would be managed through local banks and consumer stock ownership plans would be created for public services.

TAX ALTERNATIVES

It has been said that taxation is the price one pays for a civilization, and that the only two constants in life are death and taxes. However, for some time the discussion about taxes has been limited to whether to raise or lower taxes only. This ignores the fact that there are structural flaws in the current tax system in Corning as well as the nation. In recognition that some form of taxation is necessary for public services and infrastructure, there needs to be an exploration as to what is the best system for the community that is both fair and efficient. At this moment, the current sales tax and property tax is regressive and hurts the poor in the city. For example, a large percentage of rent payments and their increases go to property taxes. Because this is an issue that is of great concern to residents, and because of the need for transparency and openness, any new tax system must be created from the input of taxpayers in order to be satisfactory. The possible options chosen by taxpayers can be a city-wide income tax, a land-use tax that taxes land rather than buildings, or whatever form that can be suggested by taxpayers. Public forums can be established to gather input, and the results can be voted on in a city-wide referendum using Instant Runoff Voting.

SUSTAINABILITY

Energy production needs to be based on alternative renewable energy sources that are also nonpolluting. They must also be organized in a decentralized manner in order to avoid the appropriation by corporate power and the negative impact of equipment that is too massive for communities to bear. Overall, energy production for the future should be from wind, solar, and hydro and based locally for the sake of both the environment and empowerment of the people. Net metering is a method where consumers who own smaller renewable energy sources on their property are still connected to the energy grid and surplus energy is transmitted back into the grid. The power generated would be the deduction of any energy outflows from metered energy inflows. Under net-metering, a residential wind turbine or solar panel owner would receive retail credit for the electricity they generate. This would result in the generation of nonpolluting energy while lowering individual energy bills. I advocate:

1. A market rate net metering system where energy use is priced dynamically according to a function of wholesale electric prices. The meters would be programmed remotely to calculate the value and would be read remotely.
2. The retail credit earned by renewable energy sources applied to paying off residential energy bills and initial installation costs. In the case where there is more retail credit than the energy bill and installation cost, the credit can be used to purchase locally made or grown goods.
3. The requiring of electric and gas utilities to provide financial assistance to residential customers who install solar panels and small wind turbines. A fund shall be established to pay for installation costs and to receive payback through retail credit from produced energy or monetary returns.

Local food production will be a priority in the near future as oil production will begin to decline. Most food that is purchased in our community is shipped in from other parts of the country by trucks, in some rare cases being imported from other countries. As oil prices rise over the long-term, this will translate into higher food prices and the need to either use artificial preservatives or genetic modification to make the food products last longer during its transport. Corning's location in New York state gives the community an opportunity to look toward local farmers to supply the majority of our food products, and to make sure that this food was grown or raised organically. A directory of local farmers has already been created to help consumers make choices, but more needs to be done. I support:

1. The city government acting as facilitator between local farmers and local stores or restaurants to make sure that city residents will be consuming a majority of local food by the end of five years.
2. The expansion of the Corning Farmers Market to seven days a week and from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. during its normal time of the year by the end of five years.
3. The supporting of community gardens on private property, including changes in the law regarding food gardens on front lawns and the creation of hydroponic gardens in available spaces.
4. A pilot project to plant three fruit trees in Denison Park to determine if fruit trees on park land can be used to supply food products to local food banks.

The importance of sustainability lies in the recognition that the city is a system very much like a biological system or an ecosystem in nature. It is vital that the city achieves a dynamic equilibrium where the various components are able to interact in the most efficient and effective way while being able to adapt to drastic changes. The community needs to reevaluate the materials that are used for daily needs, and the subsequent waste that is produced. I will support:

1. The development of a vegetable oil depository that would allow restaurants and households to recycle cooking oil into bio-fuel for use by residents.
2. A program to examine the fact that Corning accounts for 20% of the county landfill, and that would in turn increase recycling and reuse within the city with the goal of reducing that amount by one third in five years.
3. A supplement to city road repair with techniques used by European countries that result in longer lasting roads.

CIVIL LIBERTIES

As long as the Patriot Act is law in the United States, the rights guaranteed by the Constitution are in danger. Under the Patriot Act, the normal safeguards to ensure that the innocent, those who peacefully dissent, and those who might be considered “the other” are not arrested and imprisoned indefinitely are ignored. It is up to the community to take action to protect the basic rights that is the foundation of our democracy. I therefore advocate the passing of the following city resolution:

WHEREAS: the City of Corning is sworn to defend the constitutional rights of all persons in the community, and determined to further the free exercise and enjoyment of all the rights guaranteed by the Constitutions of the State of New York and the United States, and;

WHEREAS: several state and federal statutes and executive orders, including the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56) and Homeland Security act of 2002, now threaten such fundamental rights and liberties as freedom of speech, religion and assembly, the right to privacy, due process in judicial proceedings, equal protection of the laws, and protection from unreasonable search and seizure, now therefore be it

RESOLVED: that the City of Corning will affirm the primacy of the Bill of Rights in our society and that as a document it and the Constitution exists above all other laws enacted in the United States; and be it further

RESOLVED: that the City of Corning will instruct Corning law enforcement officers and all other City employees to preserve all the above mentioned rights for all persons by refraining from acting in a manner which infringes upon those freedoms and rights, even if authorized or requested to do so by federal or state law enforcement officials alleging authority under the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56) or the Homeland Security Act of 2002; and be it further

RESOLVED: that the City Council urges all elected officials who represent the City of Corning to monitor the implementation of the abovementioned Acts and actively work for the repeal of those provisions which violate the fundamental rights and liberties stated in the Constitution of the United States and the State of New York; and be it further

RESOLVED: that the City Clerk shall communicate this resolution to all the elected representatives of the City of Corning in the Steuben County Legislature, the New York State Legislature, and the United States Congress, to the Governor and Attorney General of the State of New York, the United States Attorney General and the President of the United States.

PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING

In relation to issues about taxation, how that money is spent is also vital to the community. The tax revenue that would be generated is public money, and it is up to the public to be part of the decision-making process. Therefore, the city government must facilitate the process of participatory budgeting. Participatory budgeting is at the heart of grassroots democracy. This process would include periodic public forums where residents can voice what they think should be emphasized in the budget, as well as a tax form sent to each taxpayer where they would be able to identify how they want one third of their tax contribution to be allocated. Once residents, as both taxpayers and users of public services, are able to be an active part of the process rather than a passive source of tax revenue, then there is the possibility of empowerment that is supposed to be the goal of a democratic system. This aspect of grassroots democracy should be united with other elements. If elected, I will introduce local laws to:

1. Adopt proportional voting and Instant Runoff Voting for local elections.
2. Reduce the terms of office of all local officials to two years.
3. Provide term limits.
4. Allow local citizens to place ballot initiatives on local election ballots.
5. Allow local citizens to conduct referendum on decisions by local officials.
6. Allow recall of local officials.
7. Allow same day voter registration in local elections.
8. Increase the voting franchise by allowing resident non-citizens, residents 16 and over, and resident felons to vote in local elections.
9. Adopt strong codes of ethics and conflict of interest rules.

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