GB here again--A few follow up comments:(1) To fix...

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8584846.post-79760959875128556232008-03-25T06:23:00.000-05:002008-03-25T06:23:00.000-05:00GB here again--A few follow up comments:(1) To fix...GB here again-- A few follow up comments: (1) To fixbuffalo: Here is one very particular metric I can give you how Upstate has been sold out to NYC: The forcing down our throats of a Downtown Buffalo Casino (casino gambling happens to be illegal in NYS.) I'm not going to rehash all the the arguments as to why this will be an utter economic disaster for Buffalo if it happens, but I'll just put this out: MOST of the slot money revenue of that casino will go to the NYS coffer's, not Buffalo's. For ten years, Buffalo gets part of that money, but then after ten years, Buffalo then gets NOTHING FOREVER while NYS keeps reaping the cash flow. Where will that money come from? Even the Seneca's internal memos acknowledge that that money will come from local Buffalo residents. The argument by the previous governor and the back-room real made by Sheldon Silver in Albany with the Indians to force this on Buffalo were that it would bring revenue to Buffalo and revitalize downtown. That is utter BS. My main question to this argument is this: If a freakin' casino is SOOOOO GREAT for a local economy, why isn't Sheldon Silver clamoring to have three or four built in Manhattan? I mean, this is NYC, right? They could get one if they wanted one! No, the fact is they KNOW this is TERRIBLE for the economy of a city--- all they need to do is look across to Atlantic City, a terrible slum outside the casino district. There you go. There is one recent example about how NYC is raping the economy of Upstate for it's own rewards. A second recent example I can give you is the recent deal Buffalo made with the Niagara Power Authority. Niagara Falls is a LOCAL FREAKIN' RESOURCE--- one of the greatest sources of clean energy in the WORLD! One has to ask oneself, if that is true, and if that is a LOCAL resource, why is there a COAL FIRED POWER PLANT in North Tonawanda!?!? The greatest source of natural clean electricity is just a couple of miles from those houses, yet those folks have to get their electricity by burning dirty coal! (Which, by the way, has to be TRUCKED IN to the area!) Why? I'll tell you why. Because most of that Niagara Falls electricity gets pumped downstate to NYC. Again, Buffalo and the Niagara Region get shafted. If Niagara Falls and Western New York had any clout at all, we would be keeping most of that electricity, or at least getting an honorable piece of compensation for it. If we kept ALL of that energy for ourselves, energy would be SO cheap in the region that we would be able to lure business and manufacturing here no problem-- which is what happened in the BEGINNING with Bethlehem and other places. As it is, we send 90% of our harvest to Caesar in NYC (ie. Sheldon Silver) and he generously lets us build a coal-fired power plant in our backyard. So, there you go: Two real-life examples about how the power in Albany forces terrible deals on Buffalo in order to suck us dry--- and we (our politicians) just sit back and take it. (2) According to anonymous, the Harvard guy "predicted (Buffalo) won't any time soon grow back to it's previous much larger population and to its early 20th century level of relative power and wealth." This is just utter BS. How could he know this? Look 90 minutes up the QEW to see an economic success story and GROWING, THRIVING metropolis in TORONTO. In most ways, actually, Buffalo has Toronto beat as far as a city that SHOULD be thriving. At the very least, it has GEOGRAPHY going for it. Buffalo is at the Eastern end of Lake Erie; it has railroads, is still on the way to the St Lawrence Seaway. Toronto is on the northen edge of lake Ontario, not on the way to ANYWHERE. Buffalo is further SOUTH than Toronto. Buffalo is close to a verdant wine, grape and apple growing region-- Tononto isn't. Buffalo is five miles from the greatest source of cheap, clean electricity in the WHOLE FREAKIN' WORLD! Toronto isn't. So all the Harvard guy's arguments why Buffalo will continue to shrink and never achieve former glory is utter BS. Can he please explain Toronto to me then? No. There are REASONS Buffalo's economy is so stagnant-- and most of those have to do with Albany, as far as I can tell. Comparing the two cities, Buffalo is the city that should be thriving, NOT Toronto. Figure out WHY that is, and you'll really be on to something. Oh, one last point: Buffalo had past glory because of huge industry and commerce and banking. A few local discoveries in some new, exciting area-- biotech, energy, anything--- and Buffalo could have a chance at growing again. But it's hard to stand up when you've got somebody's foot on your neck! -GBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com