You "Vote No to Con-Con" people are giving me a rash! All of this nonsense plastered all over social media is dumbfounding. How can so many people know so little? There are, in my humble opinion, only two possible answers. Either you actually believe that We The People are incapable of intelligently participating in our own government or you really don't know what's going on and just share Farcebook memes to pretend that you do. Either way, you're wrong. So, please allow me to address the most frequently shared, yet utterly ridiculous statements being made by the "Vote No" crowd.
The Constitutional Convention proposition was cleverly placed on the back of the ballot so you wouldn't see it. Beware, they say, a blank ballot will be counted as a yes! LOL!
All propositions were put on the back of the ballot in 2010, when New York State starting using scannable paper ballots. It should really go without saying that a blank ballot is not counted either way.
Teachers, Fire Fighters, Police and all public employees could lose your pensions! Collective bargaining rights could be taken away! Seriously?
Let's start with the obvious. Collective Bargaining on the part of public service employees is not even covered under the State Constitution. It's protected by the Taylor Law, which, by the way, was enacted by the legislature and can be undone the same way. No Con-Con needed. As far as losing pensions go, highly unlikely. The NY Constitution makes public employee pensions contractual and protects them from "impairment". Any attempt to reduce benefits for retirees or take accrued benefits from current employees would violate the Contract Clause of the US Constitution. Either way, you're covered people. Your pensions are safe. Now, could a change to the State Constitution affect pensions for future employees (those who have not yet been hired)? Yes. But that's already happening. In 2012 the legislature put the new Tier (Tier VI) in place, restricting pensions for anyone hired after April 2016. Again, no Con-Con necessary.
The Con-Con will affect health care benefit protections for many people. Nope.
Health Care Benefits are not protected under the State Constitution so there are no protections to lose.
Delegates to a Con-Con will be the same politicians we have now. "Regular" people are not delegates. Well THAT'S ON YOU!
If there is a Con-Con the election of delegates will be free and open. ANYONE can run to be a delegate. If you want "Regular" people to represent you at a Con-Con then get off your butt and vote for them!
This is my favorite! Anything that could be done by a Con-Con can be done through regular legislation in Albany. LOL!!
For this to be true, you would have to believe that our current elected officials would vote to cut their own throats. Term Limits, Strengthened corruption laws, Real campaign finance reform. These are things that elected officials fear the most. These are the things a Con-Con could produce!
Here's what you really need to understand. Anything produced at a Constitutional Convention, any changes to the Constitution, would have to be put before the voters. YOU have the final say. Nothing changes unless the majority of voters in New York State say they should change. So, unless you actually believe that voters will collective say, 'Hey, you know what, I think clean water is overrated', the other scare tactic of telling you that environmental protections will be eliminated is just that; a scare tactic. You really have to ask yourself why, if a Con-Con is so bad, do the Vote No people have to lie? Could it be that the Vote No movement is actually the evil power brokers and special interest groups trying to maintain their stranglehold on New York Politics? Maaaybee.
So, in closing, vote yes or vote no. That's up to you. But, please take the time to find out what you're actually voting for or against before you vote. Our future depends on it.
Thank you for your time
Nava Blue
Posts
