Long Island, NY

State Senate Set to Meet

http://www.scribd.com/doc/16956372/State-Senate-Set-to-Meet

Long Island, NY

http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vpcamp2912814566may28,0,3211241.story

Campaign finance reform can seem pretty unattached from day-to-day life – a concern for high-minded civic groups and editorial pages. But a new report by Citizen Action of New York tracked five bills that would have benefited consumers had they passed. Instead, big campaign contributions outweighed the public interest every time.

One particularly egregious case involved prominent consumer and senior groups that wanted to create a prescription drug program administered by the State Health Department. The purpose was to buy in bulk and reduce prices. Individual participants and governments on all levels stood to save at least $100 million annually, according to an estimate by the Fiscal Policy Institute.

But during the time the bill was being considered, in 2006, some $1.1 million flowed into campaign coffers from drug companies, drugstores and their trade associations. “It wasn’t the arguments of the drug companies that held up this critical legislation, but the campaign cash they dispensed to legislators of both parties,” Citizen Action concluded.

By the time a similar bill passed, in the governor’s 2008-09 budget, it had been watered down to offer discounts only to those between ages 50 and 64. Similar stories surround measures to regulate health insurance hikes, cap ticket-scalping profits, expand wetlands protections and strengthen rent-control rules.

At the least, New York should lower its sky-high contribution limits of $15,500 for State Senate races and $7,600 for Assembly contests. Even better would be full public financing, to restore the people’s interests to the forefront of politics.