…and the citizen-taxpayer-voter apathy that keeps these horrid people in power? ‘Why are you letting people who hate you, run our government? Why, indeed?
By Bobbie Anne Cox, Attorney | Substack.com
I am so disgusted, it’s unbelievable.
Before I delve into my explanation as to why, I want to quote President Abraham Lincoln when he said, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
It is with that in mind that I write the following…
It is budget season in our New York State capital. This means bad news for New Yorkers, because the one-party-rule, supermajority Democrat legislators who run our state, are doling out hundreds of billions of dollars to do anything except help tax-paying New Yorkers. The budget this year is $237,000,000,000 (that is billion, with a “b”). This is $8,000,000,000 billion more than last year. This is $70,000,000,000 billion more than our 2019 budget, which was the last time the legislature was “balanced” (meaning the Republicans had control of the Senate and the Democrats controlled the Assembly, so they had to actually talk and negotiate). To put this into perspective of how absolutely despicable $237,000,000,000 is, Florida has millions more residents than New York state, and Florida’s budget ($117 billion) is half of New York’s. Half! Let me say it again. Florida has more people to tend to, help, take care of… and its budget is not just less than New York’s, it is HALF. Fun fact: while NYS is run solely by Democrats, Florida is run by Republicans. (Disclaimer – I am not Republican).
For the past few days, I’ve been watching some of the debates in the NYS Legislature. The process is sickening. Literally. Since the Dems have a supermajority in both our Senate and Assembly, and the governor is a Dem, this means they do not need even one Republican vote to make laws, change laws, delete laws, or create a budget. So, this means one party (most of whom are far left-wing morons) is shoving their anti-American agenda down our throats. We do not live in a socialist country! But we do now live in a socialist state, after the passage of this budget.
These anti-American, power-hungry, corrupt people run our state (and their cohorts run our federal government). There is zero transparency, and zero voter input. The Democrats do whatever they want, because, well, who is stopping them? They don’t ask the Republican legislators what they want to see in the budget. They don’t ask the Republicans whether or not their policies they plan to implement will help, or hurt, the Republicans’ constituents. No conversation. No negotiation. No transparency. The Republicans must “debate” the bills to pull intent and meaning out of the Democrats. The Dems’ process is elitist and abhorrent with their cavalier attitude of, “This is what we are doing. We don’t care what you think, or want, or even whether it’s constitutional or not. We’re doing it anyway.” By the way, the “you” in that sentence means you and me… We the People. They are tyrants masquerading as Democrats, and they are destroying New York.
And you are letting them.
For more details on their toxic, “Catch me if you can” attitude, you can access one of my recent articles on that here.
I can’t possibly cover all of the despicable laws the communists (Democrats, same thing) are passing in this year’s budget, but I will explain a few of the most horrendous, anti-American things I just watched them approve. Make sure you are sitting down.
Illegal Aliens over Citizens:
First off, I absolutely dare someone to say something about my choice of term, “illegal aliens” here. If you call these people “migrants,” then you are adopting the communists’ (feel free to insert “Democrat” instead there, same difference) word salad that they use to lie, cheat, and steal, and that therefore makes you part of the problem. Just because Biden and his cohorts are actively shipping these people into our country, and rolling out the welcome mats at our borders, does not mean they are here legally. We have immigration laws. Because Biden refuses to enforce those laws, does not mean the laws fail to exist. More on that here.
Now let’s dive into the budget. In 2023, the Democrat-run NYS Legislature gave $1.9 billion (with a “b”) of our hard earned tax dollars to NYC to pay for illegal aliens. That money is gone. So now, the anti-American NYS Democrat legislators are giving Mayor Adams in NYC an additional $2.4 billion (with a “b”) to support the illegal aliens. So, that’s a grand total of $4.3 billion, in just the past year. And there’s no end in sight, because there are no strings whatsoever attached to that money. There’s no requirement to stop accepting hundreds of thousands of illegals into New York, there’s no requirement to deport all those who are not actually asylum seekers (over 90% are not), there’s no requirement to comply with ICE, there’s no requirement to revoke sanctuary status… Nothing. No accountability. No oversight. Of $2.4 BILLION dollars that you and I busted our rumps to earn, and then pay over to the communists in Albany.
Senator Jack Martins (a Republican representing part of Long Island), asked the Democrats during the debate if there are any time requirements or restrictions involved in determining who gets some of this $2.4 billion of our tax dollars. In other words, does an illegal alien need to be here a certain period before they can receive free benefits paid for by New York tax payers?
“No!” was the answer given by the bill’s sponsor, Liz Kreuger (a “Democrat” representing part of NYC).
So, what does that mean? It means an illegal alien can step off the bus, or the airplane, or the train, etc., plant their feet on New York soil, and say, “I’m here, give me a place to live (for free), food (for free), medical attention (for free), schooling for my kids (for free), legal assistance (for free), and a MONTHLY DEBIT CARD to buy WHATEVER I WANT (for free), etc…” I will note, of great importance, it is FREE to these illegal aliens, but at a horrendous expense to you and me, the law-abiding, tax-paying citizens.
Senator Patricia Canzonari-Fitzpatrick (a Republican representing part of Long Island) asked the bill’s sponsor if there are any circumstances built into the law whereby someone would lose the “right” to get all of these freebies from us. In other words, if someone loses their asylum status, or is never given that status, or if they commit a crime, will they lose the opportunity to get free benefits?
“No!” said Democrat Liz Kreuger. There are no circumstances under which the illegals do not have a right to our $2.4 billion. That folks, is not socialism. It is communism… the government owns and controls all, and divides it up as the criminals running the government see fit.
Setting a budget, whether for your household, your business, or for the State, requires you to set priorities. Where will you spend the money you have? What is most important to you, and what will you cast aside as unimportant? Well, I will now educate you on a few of the things that the Democrats refused to fund, so that they could instead spend $2.4 billion on illegal aliens…
- Food for hungry school children, “free lunch for all” – a program that would have only cost $90 million – a very small fraction of that $2.4 billion.
- Infrastructure for fixing our roads (potholes, paving, etc).
- 700,000 tax paying New Yorkers do not have health care coverage (but they, and you, pay for the illegal aliens to have it for free).
- Flood relief for communities devastated by recent storm flooding.
The list goes on and on. As Senator Steven Rhoads pointed out during one of the debates, “We don’t have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem.” And the Democrats have made it clear that they will do anything they can to help those who break the law, and simultaneously refuse to help law-abiding, tax-paying New Yorkers.
I’ll add that this is not just happening in New York. Wake up folks!
Corruption and Wasteful Spending
Yes, of course, those are in this budget, too. For example, the Democrats crafted a law such that basically only one (undoubtedly pre-determined) company can “qualify” to win the contract that will give it the power to handle all of the hundreds of millions of dollars for contracts to companies that provide aid to seniors and people with disabilities. No more allowing the small mom-and-pop shops to bid for and win contracts to work with the State on these programs. Nope. Now, one broker will run the entire program and decide who gets what work, when, and how! Pay-to-play style corruption. That’s in this budget.
How about this – as pointed out by Senator Pam Helming (Republican representing the Finger Lakes area), the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) was spending $708 of our tax dollars to change each lightbulb. And it wasn’t just one lightbulb it was paying its hand-picked contractors to change. Equally despicable, NYCHA spends almost $500,000 of our tax dollars to renovate one apartment – and they are renovating hundreds if not thousands! Is the phrase contractor kickbacks rolling around in your brain right now? It should be. Here’s a link to a recent story about 70 NYCHA employees getting busted for this brazen corruption.
No Reform for “Bail Reform”… again
For anyone unfamiliar with “bail reform,” it was a law passed in 2019, the first year that the Democrats had 100% control of the NYS Legislature, and of course the Governor’s mansion as well. What this pro-criminal law does is that it eliminates a judge’s ability to determine when and how much bail they can set for someone that has been arrested for committing a crime. Yes, you read that correctly. No more holding people on bail! We will just arrest them, and then let them go, the same day! Oh, but don’t worry, the Dems said they will make the arrestees promise not to do it again, so that should make you feel safe.
How bail used to work in New York, and how it works in sane states, was that a judge could decide on a case by case basis if a suspect should be held on bail. For example, the judges used to be able to consider the crime the person is being charged with, whether the accused has any prior arrests, if so, for which crimes, if they have a job, if they maintain a home, support a family, in short, whether or not they are a flight risk, etc… However, the Democrats said that was not fair. No. You see, bail is racist, so, they got rid of it. Screw the law-abiding New Yorkers who will become victims of the recidivist criminals who are no longer allowed to be held on bail. Just as long as the criminals are not discriminated against, we’re good.
So, now, a judge can no longer set bail for most crimes in New York state. Things like theft, burglary, assault, drug offenses, stalking, arson, and other “non violent” felonies no longer have bail. Since criminals and suspects can’t be held in jail until their trial date, they are released immediately, and free to commit more crimes. After all, what’s their deterrent?
As any 5 year old child could predict, no-cash-bail will obviously lead to a sharp increase in crime, because all of those recidivist criminals are roaming the streets instead of sitting in jail. As a result, one of the consequences of this dystopian Democrat policy is that there are so many criminals repeating crimes, the District Attorneys and police are getting overwhelmed. Their work loads are doubling and tripling with having to prepare and prosecute the same people over and over again (whereas before, those same repeat criminals would have been sitting in jail instead of roaming free and causing a threat to your safety, and the safety of your family). Here’s how it works today – they are arrested for a crime, taken to the police station, booked, and then SET FREE. Maybe they show up for their trial date down the road. Maybe they do not. On a personal note, I have a few friends of mine who are judges, and they loathe “bail reform” because they feel their authority has been stripped from them by the Democrats in Albany, and so they are upset that they cannot keep New Yorkers safe under the Democrats’ dystopian system. Fun fact: those judge friends of mine are Democrats.
Hmmmm. What to do? Well, a 3rd grader could easily solve this problem that the Democrats have created. A child who hasn’t even hit double digit age yet would logically say, “Hey, why don’t you guys just restore bail?”
No. No. No. We absolutely cannot have logical resolutions to this very dangerous and terribly serious problem. Instead, the Democrats (lead by my unfortunate senator, Shelley Mayer) have come up with the following way to deal with this self-made problem… (you may want to pour yourself a stiff drink before you read this one). Ok, so, a person charged with a crime, who then goes out and commits another crime before the District Attorney is finished going through all the steps to prosecute the person for the first crime, will have the two (or three, or four, or five…) crimes they committed, combined. So, for example, instead of getting the perp on larceny in the 3rd degree, let them go free after their first arrest so that they can steal more stuff, combine the two crimes, and now you can charge them with larceny in the 2nd degree. Wow. How unbelievably ignorant is that? The bill’s sponsor, Democrat Shelley Mayer who represents much of Westchester County, said that her bill will make less work for the District Attorneys. Perhaps in theory. But, in actuality, it is the same amount of work for the DA and for the police. Probably more, once all is said and done.
When questioned on the Senate floor about this I’m-running-for-reelection-so-need-to-look-like-I’m-doing-something-to-stop-rampant-crime law that does nothing to keep New Yorkers safe, Senator Mayer was indignant that the Republicans, and indeed New Yorkers, should thank the Democrats for this law. She, and all the other Dems, thought there was absolutely nothing wrong with the fact that someone could, for example, steal up to $1,000,000 worth of goods, and not be held on bail. What?! So, steal a few Ferrari’s and then go loot a bunch of electronics stores, and you still won’t be held on bail. That’s fair, right? I mean, those stupid car owners and business owners should do a much better job locking up or chaining down all of their goods behind glass encasements or alarm-triggered devices. Raise your hand if you’ve seen pharmacies locking up toothpaste. Disgusting.
Senator Borrello (Republican from Western NY and my lead plaintiff on my quarantine camp lawsuit) who was questioning Mayer on her bill, pointed out that “Thank you” isn’t the phrase he had in mind. Would any logical human thank the Dems for this?
Rent Control Law Expansion
The communists in Albany (insert “Democrat” if you want, same difference) call it “Good Cause Eviction” to make it sound light and fluffy, but in reality, it is the abolition of property rights. Period. True to corrupt, Democrat form, the final bill wasn’t ready when they ended session around 12.45am Friday night/Saturday morning. The final bill was presented to the Republicans late morning on Saturday, and they began debating almost immediately thereafter. No real chance to read and analyze it, and absolutely no chance to share it with their constituents. What? Get tax payer input on these laws? NEVER. Why should the Dems do that?
Plain and simple, the communists have put in the budget an unconstitutional law that shifts property rights from landlords to tenants. Don’t bother doing the math. I’ve done it for you. Not even a little bit constitutional.
This law invalidates leases that currently exist between landlords and tenants. For example, it requires the landlord to renew a lease if the tenant wants to – no matter what the landlord wants.
Put differently, a homeowner can never enter into an agreement with a tenant for any other term except for life! Only the tenant can ever decide to leave the property. 1000% unconstitutional.
Some of the Republican senators (who are also attorneys) like Senators Lanza (Staten Island) and Palumbo (Suffolk County) so clearly pointed out in their debates on the Senate floor. Do the Democrats care? Nope. Passed it anyway.
What else does this anti-property owner law do?
- Limits the rent increases by a landlord. Only the government can approve if, when, and how much a landlord can increase rent.
- There’s no primary residence requirement in the law! So tenants could be living full-time elsewhere, but still have the protections under this socialist law.
- It’s mandatory for NYC, but other cities, towns and villages around the state can opt-in. Once they do though, they cannot later opt-out. Unbelievable!
During one of the debates, Senator Steve Rhoads proclaimed, “Socialism is private property ownership, but with complete government control.”
To that I will add that socialism is simply the precursor to communism. (For more on the horrors of communism, and its bed-mate tyranny, you can read up on my recent articles touching those topics.)
Mull this around in your mind for a bit… Dems scream, “housing crisis” every chance they can, and then they pass a socialist law that will undeniably chase landlords and developers out of New York. Clearly their end game is not to have more housing built in this State. Seems obvious to me, their goal instead is to end private property ownership.
Want to watch some of the hearings and debates that took place these past several days and weeks? Access the archive videos and transcripts on www.nysenate.gov and www.nyassembly.gov
Enough Apathy!
There is oh so much more horrendous, anti-American, anti-New Yorker crap in that budget, but I’m running long on word-count for this article, so I’ll close with this…
Everything that the Democrats in Albany (and on the federal level too) are doing are ultimately your fault. The apathy that permeates this state (and many others) is keeping those horrid people in power.
Why are you letting people that hate you and what you stand for run our government? Why are you letting them tell you what you can and cannot do? Why?
I have heard a couple different answers from people in the past. I’ll dispel them now.
- “There are no parties, Bobbie Anne, there’s just a uni-party and the Republicans are just as bad as the Democrats.” That, folks, is a cop out. It’s a terrific excuse to not doing anything. It’s an excuse to throw your hands up and walk away. It’s an excuse to stick your head in the sand, or worse, to flee the State. If you think their is just a uni-party and all politicians are the same, then do something about it! For example:
- “Why should I vote, Bobbie Anne – our elections are a sham, the Democrats cheat, and so I’m not going to vote.” I’ve written on this topic countless times. Here is my firm reply to that:
- If you don’t vote, they win automatically, hands down, no contest. So you not voting = you are voting to keep these idiots in power.
- There are 19 million New Yorkers. Two years ago we had a gubernatorial election, plus the entire NYS legislature was up for election – all 213 of them. Do you know how many New Yorkers voted? Only about 5.5 million. Pathetic.
- In that same 2022 election, Kathy Hochul (our communist governor) beat the Republican candidate, Lee Zeldin, by only 300,000 votes.
- You want to stop the Democrats to not be able to cheat, bring a lawsuit under the Motor Voter Act, and sue to force the Boards of Election to clean up the voter rolls.
- “I’m tired of the tyranny and these corrupt politicians. New York is a lost cause, so I’m moving.”
- If everyone with logic who shares our values and does not want to live in a socialist or communist society leaves New York, then there will be nobody left to fight them here.
- If they win in New York, it will spread across the country, and then you will have no place left to hide. It’s the same premise as my quarantine lawsuit against Gov. Hochul, which is still winding its way through the courts… if they can get away with quarantine camps in New York, the other states will follow suit. What happens in New York spreads. (For a comprehensive update on my quarantine case, you can read here.)
- Poignant fact: about 600,000 New Yorkers have fled the state in the past few years. Former Congressman Lee Zeldin (who I know personally and is definitely on our side) only lost to Hochul by about 300,000 votes. Imagine if just half of those who fled New York had stayed. And voted.Don’t Forget!
- If you aren’t already, follow me now on Twitter… @Attorney_Cox
- Please consider making a donation to support my quarantine lawsuit appeal against Governor Hochul. Every donation helps, no matter the amount! You can donate here.
- For larger donations, there is a non-profit organization, and you can get more information by emailing Info@preservetheconstitution.com
- Stay Informed: Sign up for my weekly Substack, and then share it. Consider a paid subscription if you would like to help support my work.
- Stay informed, and then help me raise awareness. Have you watched any of the floor debates in the Assembly or Senate lately? How about ever? Ok, well you should start. Since they won’t consult you before they vote, find your own way to be informed. Don’t have time to watch their debates? Then it’s a good thing that you subscribe to my Substack, so that way you can stay informed since I watch those things and then report on them.
- Get involved with someone’s campaign who you believe in. Don’t like who is in power? Then get involved to help their opponent win. Every single NYS Senator and Assembly member is up for election this November 5th!
- Donate to a candidate you believe in (check their voting record first), or donate to an organization or someone who is fighting for our rights and freedoms. (Most of what I do is pro bono, so I would be thrilled to have your support, and you can donate here. Or you can donate to the legal fund for my quarantine lawsuit that is set up by Uniting NYS: here).
- VOTE THEM OUT. And get everyone you know to vote them out. November 5th is a huge election day for us. All state legislators, some of our Congress members, and the President are all up for election. Put into power people who honor the Constitution and will fight for our values.
Attorney Bobbie Anne Cox… Knowledge is power! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. ##