With a fresh new round of arrests of New York state politicos, you have to wonder: Is there something in the drinking water?
There sure is — and politicians have put it there. A state senator led off in handcuffs makes for a good photo. But for the root of corruption we need to look past personalities to the high-tax, free-spending and heavy regulatory state New York has created at all levels of government.
The reason is simple. For corruption to happen, politicians need something to sell. The more intrusive the government is in the economic life of its citizens, the more services they have to sell. That can be anything from securing approval for some development, getting funding for or from some government program, passing a law that puts competitors at a disadvantage or carving out some lucrative loophole.
Lo and behold, that’s just what the latest arrestees seem to have been selling. Democratic Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, for example, is accused of sponsoring a bill to put a moratorium on new adult-day-care centers after taking cash from owners who wanted an effective monopoly. Prosecutors also say he took money to get a certificate of occupancy for one of their buildings.
Meanwhile, there’s Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Smith and Republican City Council Member Dan Halloran, who were working to let Smith run in the GOP mayoral primary in exchange for favors, including taxpayer funds for a Spring Valley development.
Even when no illegality is alleged Albany gives off a bad odor, as in yesterday’s Post dispatch about state Sen. Jeff Klein’s efforts to give a wine company that donated to him an advantage over competitors.
Here’s how Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker explains political graft: “The only way to reduce corruption permanently is to drastically cut back government’s role in the economy.” Amen.
In short, there’s a connection between the corruption making headlines and the heavy hand of New York government in the economic life of its citizens.
While prosecuting those who bribe or accept bribes is important, we cannot arrest our way to clean government. The path to more honest politicians runs through a state that gives them fewer opportunities to sell.