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Health & Fitness

Reflections of a City Attorney, Part 7: Trying to Make Sense of it All

Where do we go from here? We start standing up and demanding responsible behavior, and untether government officials from lobbyists and big corporations.

Preface: This series of articles, detailing reflections from , ends today. I welcome any feedback. Miss earlier parts? .

Part 7.  Trying to Make Sense out of Chaos.

I have wondered what I, or any citizen, can do to promote a vision for a better world. As I , I believe it is imperative for local public officials and employees to use their ingenuity and talents to explore how cities can best perform the essential goal of protecting the health, welfare and safety of our citizens. It is equally important for citizens to support government and speak up against the anti government rhetoric that is especially evident during this campaign season.

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The challenge is daunting and overwhelming.The greatest disparity in wealth now exists in our country since we became a nation. The 400 wealthiest people have accumulated as much wealth as over 150 million of our least well off citizens.

One percent earn over 25 percent of the income each year. Tax rates have steadily declined in each decade, so the 90 percent tax rates of the 50s, the 70 percent tax rates of the 70s, and the 50 percent tax rates of the 80s have been reduced to mid-30 percent rates.

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Capital gains rates, a peculiar sop to the wealthy, are at 17 percent. Hedge fund billionaires and multimillionaires have their own special tax loopholes that allow their billion and multi-hundred-million dollar incomes to be taxed at 15 percent.

America was a great country in the 50s, 60s and 70s. America ironically has become less egalitarian and less hopeful today as the tax rates declined. Even in the face of these facts, politicians in federal and state governments are steadfastly proposing even more sacrifice by 95 percent of Americans for the benefit of the top 1 percent of the population.

Working Together

Cities and other local governments cannot address these problems alone. Efforts will doubtless need to be joint undertakings by cities, counties, school districts and the state. No matter what, this assault on communities must be confronted.

There is no shortage of significant policy issues that must be revamped to preserve an America that prides itself on creating an opportunity for the wellbeing and prosperity of all its citizens, not just the wealthiest 1 percent. Some of the most important non-local policy issues are:

1. Comprehensive campaign finance reform. Citizens United is a terrible decision. It is an insulting legal fiction for a court to conclude that a corporation is a person and should have free reign to spend money in elections. A constitutional amendment may be necessary to undo the harm this decision is bringing on our country. The federal and state governments, through their contracting power, can prohibit anyone contracting with the government from making campaign contributions or spend money on lobbying. Other statutory laws limiting the amount of money corporations can contribute and spend on election campaigns are necessary to pass to preserve a democracy of, by and for the people. Canada limits corporate campaign contributions to $3,500. So should America. Reform legislation should also require full disclosure of all campaign contributions greater than $1,000 whether given by corporations or individuals.

2. Real ethical reform is long overdue. The offices of big government have become the home of the morally and ethically bankrupt. We have legalized bribery in the halls of government. We have allowed our elected officials to become a class of protected criminals. If America is to remain a viable democracy, then it is imperative to change the business as usual in our nation’s capital and in every state capital across the country. Significant limitations on politicians who accept money, receive lobbyists and leave government to become lobbyists are long overdue.

3. Restore majority rule. A representative system of government cannot function when a minority can frustrate the voting rights of the majority.   Governments at all levels are being starved and denied tax revenues by two-thirds voting requirements, the filibuster or other gimmicks. It is time to do away with these gimmicks and return to majority rule. The state of California has become dysfunctional over the last three decades since . Interestingly, so has the U.S. Senate as laws have become impossible to enact without at least a filibuster proof 60 votes.

3. Choosing “butter over guns.” America cannot afford incessant wars. We need to redirect tax dollars to better our communities. Every dollar spent on war and destruction is one less dollar available for our communities. The Bush administration started two wars without funding them. Instead, taxes were reduced on the wealthy. The military industrial complex has been only too happy to go to war. We have allowed our military and foreign policy to be hijacked by private contractors in collusion with elected and appointed officials. These enormous military expenditures sacrifice the well being of the general population and are depriving financial resources to cities. We can have security without bankrupting ourselves and occupying the world with our military bases.

4. Free trade agreements are bad for our cities and country. Free trade is code for moving manufacturing and jobs off shore to countries with few or no labor laws, environmental laws or living wage regulations. Free trade laws in a global economy are simply pitting one nation against another to the detriment of the general welfare of working communities in all countries. It is time to rescind these so called free trade agreements and replace them with fair trade laws and tariffs to protect America.

A More Sustainable Vision

Cities need to implement local policies that will help save and fortify the longterm health of our communities. A strong community must have safe food and water, affordable health care, living wages and community-based banking. For those matters like clean air and water, cities will need to become more effective advocates at the state and federal levels. For health, banking, transportation and other programs, cities will have to forge strong partnerships with counties and regional agencies.

Local government usually is the most efficient of all levels of government and provides the most visible services for its citizens. Local government should protect the public domain and not allow profit-making enterprises to capture public resources or perform core governmental functions by a process of privatization. And, for those services like communications and provision of energy, citizens should demand that regulatory agencies control prices and policies, if for no other reason than in the final analysis companies use the public air waves, water ways, and land that belongs to the communities, whether the communities fall under local, state or federal jurisdiction.

Conclusion

Wealthy special interest groups wish to shrink local governmental functions by reducing revenues through tax cuts, and restricting governmental function. The publicity campaign appeals to citizens who wish to pay less in taxes and have fewer regulations. These marketing campaigns are well thought out assaults on government. Cities no longer have the luxury of allowing the attacks on government to go unanswered. In the end if the attacks on government are successful, citizens may pay less taxes to government, but citizens will pay a different, and much higher, tax to private corporations that are only interested in profits, and unconcerned about the welfare of citizens. In the end if the special interests and corporations succeed in their efforts to curtail governmental functions, it would be tantamount to a takeover of government by politically powerful corporations and the extraordinarily wealthy. This would not be good for cities, for America, or for 99 percent of citizens.

Robert Zweben
Former Albany City Attorney

Robert Zweben was elected as the Albany City Attorney in 1978 and continuously served in that capacity until he retired on Dec. 31, 2011. The City Attorney position is part time. He was admitted to practice law in California in 1972. His law office is located in the East Bay area. In addition to the practice of law he is a partner in the business firm of Givens and Zweben since 1972. Givens and Zweben own and operate small business enterprises in the East Bay and Davis area. 

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