One of the truisms of Washington, DC is that all politics are local. Except for one group of politicians: those who seek national attention.

Most Congressmen are charged with and accept the responsibility of caring for their constituents. Hence the phenomenon of earmarks — special appropriations inserted into spending bills that are too often abused to provide for local projects. Help for citizens and businesses usually is achieved less intrusively, through favorable legislation or at least Congressmen following the principle of "doing no harm."

Oddly enough, some of the key New York Congressmen (particularly Senators Clinton and Schumer) and Governor wanna be—Eliot Spitzer have routinely attacked corporate America and are doing harm to businesses throughout America. They are truly biting the hand that feeds the citizens of  New York as this article makes clear.

As unions, taxes, and the imposition of onerous city regulations have made New York an unfavorable place to operate businesses, the city and the state have become increasingly dependent on the fortunes of Wall Street, which provides 20% of total city income. Each Wall Street worker creates at least two more local jobs, plus another one in New York State outside of the city.

Yet all three officials noted above have been noticeably in the forefront of attacking corporate America — particularly publicly—held corporations. They enjoy the attention and the dollars that come from liberal interest groups and the approval from their ultimate guide, the New York Times.

But at what cost to the people of New York? Corporate America  is increasingly finding other ways to access public markets for its shareholders, not dependent on New York City—based institutions. Goldman Sachs has chosen to expand in New Jersey, reflecting the flight of New York stalwarts to friendlier and cheaper locales.

More importantly, technology has increasingly led to transactions that take place in the "ether."  Seemingly, the leaders of New York are oblivious to these developments as they increasingly seek the national stage by attacking corporations ( in energy and health care, for example). New Yorkers, are you listening? Your officials are harming you for their own purposes.

Ed Lasky  1 18 06